This is not an error, but a point I’d like to explore further.
3. The other main point is that viññāna is multi-faceted. It has embedded in it one’s memories as well as one’s future hopes and plans, and those lie under the surface. This is what Sigmund Freud called the subconscious. But there is no separate “subconscious”; there is only one citta at a time.
- The mind does this with the help of several mental factors (cētasika) like memory (manasikāra) and perception (saññā). We will discuss that in the future.
3. Viññāṇa, Thoughts, and the Subconscious
6. Such vipāka viññāna are waiting in the background to bring their fruits. There may be many types hiding beneath the surface. This is what Sigmund Freud called the “sub-conscious”.
- When I am paying for my groceries, my thoughts stay focused on that transaction. But there can be many types of viññāṇa lurking “in the background”. I may be building a house, studying for an exam, planning a trip, planning a birthday party for my child, etc. and all those “viññāṇa” are working in the background even though I am not thinking about any of them at the time I am paying for my groceries.
Q. How does the background operation of vinnana occur? Is this related to purana kamma?