[pavlik]

There is a sutta where the Buddha states


"Luminous, monks, is the mind.[1] And it is defiled by incoming defilements." {I,v,9}

"Luminous, monks, is the mind. And it is freed from incoming defilements." {I,v,10}

"Luminous, monks, is the mind. And it is defiled by incoming defilements. The uninstructed run-of-the-mill person doesn't discern that as it actually is present, which is why I tell you that — for the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person — there is no development of the mind." {I,vi,1}

"Luminous, monks, is the mind. And it is freed from incoming defilements. The well-instructed disciple of the noble ones discerns that as it actually is present, which is why I tell you that — for the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones — there is development of the mind." {I,vi,2}



Note

1.
This statement has engendered a great deal of controversy over the centuries. The commentary maintains that "mind" here refers to the bhavanga-citta, the momentary mental state between periods when the mental stream adverts to objects, but this statement raises more questions than it answers. There is no reference to the bhavanga-citta or the mental stream in any of the suttas (they appear first in an Abhidhamma treatise, the Patthana); and because the commentaries compare the bhavanga-citta to deep sleep, why is it called luminous? And why would the perception of its luminosity be a prerequisite for developing the mind? And further, if "mind" in this discourse means bhavanga-citta, what would it mean to develop the bhavanga-citta?

Another interpretation equates the luminosity of the mind with the "consciousness without feature," desribed as "luminous" in MN 49 and DN 11, but this interpretation also has problems. According to MN 49, that consciousness partakes of nothing in the describable world, not even the "Allness of the All," so how could it possibly be defiled? And, because it is not realized until the goal of the practice is reached, why would the perception of its luminosity be a prerequisite for developing the mind? And again, if "mind" here means consciousness without feature, how could the sutta talk of its development?

A more reasonable approach to understanding the statement can be derived from taking it in context: the luminous mind is the mind that the meditator is trying to develop. To perceive its luminosity means understanding that defilements such as greed, aversion, or delusion are not intrinsic to its nature, are not a necessary part of awareness. Without this understanding, it would be impossible to practice. With this understanding, however, one can make an effort to cut away existing defilements, leaving the mind in the stage that MN 24 calls "purity in terms of mind." This would correspond to the luminous level of concentration described in the standard simile for the fourth jhana: "And furthermore, with the abandoning of pleasure & pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress — he enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain. He sits, permeating the body with a pure, bright awareness. Just as if a man were sitting covered from head to foot with a white cloth so that there would be no part of his body to which the white cloth did not extend; even so, the monk sits, permeating the body with a pure, bright awareness. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by pure, bright awareness." From this state it is possible to develop the discernment that not only cuts away existing defilements but also uproots any potential for them to ever arise again. Only in the stages of Awakening that follow on those acts of discernment would "consciousness without feature" be realized.

taken from

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipit....049.than.html


Im having difficulty understand what this sutta is trying to teach, any ideas?

[irridgita]

Luminous mind (also, "brightly shining mind," "brightly shining citta") (Pali, pabhassara citta) is a term attributed to the Buddha in the Nikayas. The mind is said to be "luminous" whether or not it is tainted by mental defilements.[1]

The statement is given no direct doctrinal explanation in the Pali discourses, but later Buddhist schools explained it using various concepts developed by them.[2] The Theravada school identifies the "luminous mind" with the bhavanga, a concept first proposed in the Theravada Abhidhamma.[3] The later schools of the Mahayana identify it with both the Mahayana concepts of bodhicitta and tathagatagarbha.[4] The idea is also connected with features of Dzogchen thought.[5]

the rest of the article is here.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminous_mind

[PekHyvac]

.

I think that for the ordinary person, the mind is usually clouded with thoughts and emotional defilements which they barely even notice are continually present. When practising meditation however, the mind eventually settles into a peaceful state of non-thought, clarity, emptiness and awareness, where thoughts and emotions are absent.

However I don't see how that state or its further development could be described as 'bodhiccita' (#1) which in a relative sense is usually described as 'compassion characterised by the the aspiration to liberate all sentient beings from suffering'.

An enlightened mind would automatically have compassion otherwise the Buddha wouldn't have bothered to teach others after his enlightenment.

Just some thoughts....

[Gasfghj]

The uninstructed run-of-the-mill person doesn't discern that as it actually is present, which is why I tell you that — for the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person — there is no development of the mind.

The well-instructed disciple of the noble ones discerns that as it actually is present, which is why I tell you that — for the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones — there is development of the mind.

When the mind does not know of the luminous mind, it only knows sensuality as the only possible refuge.

But when the mind experiences the luminous mind as existing, the mind tastes the flavour of liberation & true happiness.

In doing so, the mind loses its taste for other flavours.

This I see is an important point.

[diegogo]

When the mind does know of the luminous mind, it only knows sensuality as the only possible refuge.

But when the mind experiences the luminous mind as existing, the mind tastes the flavour of liberation & true happiness.

In doing so, the mind loses its taste for other flavours.

This I see is an important point.

True dear Element...

For us, luminous mind, buddha nature, buddha mind... are the same thing... a mind with out defilements, the basic condition for Right View and it can be "uncoverd" by meditation, awareness and practice of the four noble truths and the eightfold noble path...

[zibTefapparia]

Do you have a link to the Pali on that, clw-UK?

[soSldI4i]

‘‘Pabhassaramidaṃ, bhikkhave, cittaṃ. Tañca kho āgantukehi upakkilesehi upakkiliṭṭha’’nti.

‘‘Pabhassaramidaṃ, bhikkhave, cittaṃ. Tañca kho āgantukehi upakkilesehi vippamutta’’nti.

‘‘Pabhassaramidaṃ , bhikkhave, cittaṃ. Tañca kho āgantukehi upakkilesehi upakkiliṭṭhaṃ. Taṃ assutavā puthujjano yathābhūtaṃ nappajānāti. Tasmā ‘assutavato puthujjanassa cittabhāvanā natthī’ti vadāmī’’ti.

‘‘Pabhassaramidaṃ , bhikkhave, cittaṃ. Tañca kho āgantukehi upakkilesehi vippamuttaṃ. Taṃ sutavā ariyasāvako yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti. Tasmā ‘sutavato ariyasāvakassa cittabhāvanā atthī’ti vadāmī’’ti.

http://www.tipitaka.org/romn/

[Dfvgthyju]

Ajhan Brahm presents that particular quote from the OP, which I think is from the AN, as the state that mind attends to "priti - sukkha" in meditation