The Quest To Understand Consciousness

Every morning we wake up and regain consciousness -- that is a marvelous fact -- but what exactly is it that we regain? Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio uses this simple question to give us a glimpse into how our brains create our sense of self.

In Buddhism, consciousness (vinnana) can be thought of as the presence of a phenomenon, which consists of nama (name) and rupa (matter). Namarupa and vinnana together consitute the phenomenon 'in person', an experience. The phenomenon is the support (arammana) of consciousness, and all consciousness is consciousness of something. Just as there cannot be presence without something that is not present, so there cannot be something without its being to that extent present. Thus, vinnana and namarupa depend on each other.