The Unseen Seer and the Field: Consciousness in Sāmkhya and Yoga
Christopher Chapple
The Problem of Pure Consciousness March 29, 1990 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780195059809.003.0002 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the Vedic image of two birds in one tree, repeated in the Muṇḍaka and Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣads, is not simply a statement of dualism: the shared tree, symbolizing life, links the active bird and the watching bird together for as long as the one looks on or the other is not satisfied. |
Abstract
Abstract From the earliest text of Indian philosophy, the g Veda, comes an image that has profoundly influenced the Upanisads, the formal schools of Saryikhya and Yoga as well as epic and purānic literature. This image is a simple one: two birds in the same tree, one active, the other looking on. The identical passage quoted in the epigraph is repeated in the Mu0cjaka Upani ad (Ill:1: 1) and the Śvetāśvatara Upani ad (4:6). At first glance, this verse might appear to be a direct reference to dualism: two diametrically opposed birds are portrayed; one bird eats, the other does nothing. However, the tree, the universal symbol of life, brings the two together, linking them for as long as the one bird looks on or for as long as the other bird is not satisfied.
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
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- Psychological Theories of Meditation in Early Buddhism and Sāṃkhya/Yoga The Oxford Handbook of Meditation October 4, 2019