section_path: Worldview/Vijñānavāda (The Consciousness doctrine)
section_name: Vijñānavāda (The Consciousness doctrine)
paragraph_text: Vijñānavāda (The Consciousness doctrine)
  
  Vijñānavāda ("the doctrine of consciousness", a.k.a. vijñapti-mātra, "perceptions only" and citta-mātra "mind only") is another important doctrine promoted by some Mahāyāna sutras which later became the central theory of a major philosophical movement which arose during the Gupta period called Yogācāra. The primary sutra associated with this school of thought is the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra, which claims that śūnyavāda is not the final definitive teaching (nītārtha) of the Buddha. Instead, the ultimate truth (paramārtha-satya) is said to be the view that all things (dharmas) are only mind (citta), consciousness (vijñāna) or perceptions (vijñapti) and that seemingly "external" objects (or "internal" subjects) do not really exist apart from the dependently originated flow of mental experiences.
  
  When this flow of mentality is seen as being empty of the subject-object duality we impose upon it, one reaches the non-dual cognition of "Thusness" (tathatā), which is nirvana. This doctrine is developed through various theories, the most important being the eight consciousnesses and the three natures. The Saṃdhinirmocana calls its doctrine the ' third turning of the dharma wheel '. The Pratyutpanna sutra also mentions this doctrine, stating: "whatever belongs to this triple world is nothing but thought. Why is that? It is because however I imagine things, that is how they appear".
  
  The most influential thinkers in this tradition were the Indian brothers Asanga and Vasubandhu. Yogācāra philosophers developed their own interpretation of the doctrine of emptiness which also criticized Madhyamaka, in effect claiming it fell into nihilism.