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42 EASTERN HORIZON | FACE TO FACE

Yogācāra Insights

for Modern Living

By Venerable Huimin Bhikshu

Zhi Yi: How do you see the principles of Yogācāra-
bhūmi being applied in modern society,
particularly in areas like mental health and
mindfulness practices?

Yogācāra was one of the two most influential traditions of
Mahāyāna Buddhism in India, along with Mādhyamaka.
The compound Yogācāra literally means “practitioner
of yoga,” or “one whose practice is yoga,” hence the
name of the school is literally “the school of the yogins.”
It is a significant tradition of Buddhist philosophy
and psychology, emphasizing the study of cognition,
Born in 1954 in Tainan, Taiwan, Huimin Bhikshu ( perception, and consciousness through meditation
惠敏法師) obtained his pharmacy degree from practice and philosophical reasoning (hetuvidyā).
Taipei Medical University before ordaining as a
monk under Venerable Zhi Yu (智諭法師) in 1979. The earliest Yogācāra treatise, Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra
After his study at Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist (translated into Chinese by Xuanzang between 646
Studies, he furthered his studies at Tokyo University and 648 AD, in 100 volumes), is a comprehensive
in 1986, earning both master’s and doctoral degrees encyclopedic work on Yogācāra theory and practice.
within 5 years. His academic research focuses on This treatise reflects various stages of historical
Yogācāra schools. He is the current Abbot of Seeland development and was compiled between the 3rd and
Monastery in Taiwan (since 1998) and the President 5th centuries CE.
of Comprehensive Buddhist Electronic Text Archive
Foundation (CBETA Foundation). He is also an The Sanskrit word “yoga” means “connection” and is
Emeritus Professor at Taipei National University of transliterated as “瑜伽” in Chinese. Its root is √ yuj,
which originally meant to “yoke” or “harness” two oxen
the Arts and Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts.
or horses, connecting them to work together in pairs to
complete tasks such as farming or transportation. Thus,
Ven. Huimin responded to questions from Zhi Yi of it also extends to mean “union” or “pairing,” and can
Eastern Horizon, where he shared about modern refer to methods of “training the body and mind” that
application of Yogācāra-bhūmi, some practical aim at uniting the body and mind, mental states, or the
exercises rooted in Yogācāra, advice on making connection (correspondence, fitting) of concentration
Buddhism more accessible to broader audience and (samādhi) and insight (prajñā), or reason.
the importance of understanding the concept of
Maintaining a state of “body-mind unity,” like the
‘consciousness-only’.
cooperative connection (yoke) of two oxen or horses
working together, makes it easier to achieve various