ABSTRACT
The Abhidharma project and its problematic We have examined the important role of vijñana (P. viññan.a; note: hereafter we will use primarily Sanskrit terminology, reflecting the original language of our sources) within the series of dependent arising, as both the subsisting dimension of individual samsaric existence, and as a core component of the cognitive processes that typically lead to actions perpetuating such existence. This is not the whole picture, however, for the samsaric round would come to a halt if there were no afflictive passions (kleka) instigating karma-inducing activities. Thus, as essential as vijñana may be for the continuity of samsaric existence, it is the pernicious influences of the afflictions (kleka), together with the karmic actions they inform, that are essential for its perpetuation.1 In other words, while samsaric vijñana may be the product of one’s past actions, it is the presence of the afflictive energies (kleka) in one’s present activities that creates new karma. And since these are only activities that one can affect, religious effort is necessarily oriented towards controlling one’s motivations and directing one’s activities in the here and now.
