So, like you, I find when I read this stuff, it helps to round out the Pure Land teachings I am most familiar with (Jodo Shinshu, Jodo Shu, etc), hence in my subsequent post I found that it kind made me appreciate teachings I knew in the past. Compared to before, I feel like I am more confident in my understanding of them thanks to a better understanding of the underlying Mahayana thought.

So, while Pure Land is the practice I follow, the understanding comes in due part from other sources. But the founders of Pure Land in Japan drew heavily from such sources as well, so this is only natural.

As for Rev. Tagawa’s name, I think I made the mistake because it was a western book, so I assumed first-name, last-name, but I should’ve known about “Shun’ei” being an ordination name. I usually pick up on that better. :p

Ah well. Anyways, keep up the great work!

I am glad you are enjoying the book!

I translated it precisely with the hope that people who have studied or practiced other aspects of Buddhism might get interested in finding out about the school that provided the philosophical backbone for all the other schools.

In East Asia, none of the other schools, including Huayan, Zen, Tiantai, or Pure Land had their own explanations about consciousness, karma, or rebirth, so they basically had to borrow everything from Yogacara. Most people who study or practice these other forms of Buddhism have no idea about that. I myself have been a Zen practitioner for decades, but Yogacara provides us with some solid theoretical background. If you understand Yogacara, then when someone asks “How does karma work in Buddhism?” You can give an accurate explanation. For me there is no conflict between practicing Zen and studying Yogacara–they are perfectly complementary.

Almost everyone is making the mistake with Tagawa’s name–I am at fault for not making it clear. I’ve been living in Japan too long, so it didn’t even occur to me that people might read it in Western order.

Thanks for stopping at this blog. I’ve made corrections here and on Wikipedia for Rev. Tagawa’s name (stupid that I missed that), and also clarified the role of manas based on your input. Please let me know if you have any other suggestions.

P.S. Enjoying the book much. The three blog posts I’ve written on it in the last week I think show.

“I wonder if Yogacarin Buddhism has a concept of Archetypes in a Jung sense of the word”

The answer would be no. The notion of archetype would involve the existence of eternal, pre-existent, unchanging entities. Since Buddhism denies such entities, saying instead that everything is dependently originated, archetypes as they were understood by Jung would not be possible.

(1) You wrote “but the manas creates a sense of self as it retains experiences from the deepest layer of the mind, the Alaya Store Consciousness.”

This is not exactly correct. Manas actually “is” the sense of self, but it is not the place where the experiences are stored. The experiences are stored in the alaya (thus, “storehouse”).

(2) The author’s first name is Shun’ei, and his surname is TAGAWA. Thus, it would be appropriate to refer to him as Rev. Tagawa, rather than Rev. Shun’ei. This would be important for the Wikipedia page as well.