“The mind is the cause of bondage and of liberation.”
— Adi Shankara[commonly attributed] Amritabindu Upanishad tradition as cited in Vivekachudamani commentary; widely attributed to Shankara in later anthologies
Commentary
This statement, a traditional formulation found in Upanishadic and later Vedantic literature, locates the cause of bondage in the mind's identification with objects of desire and its consequent attachments. The emphasis on the mind as the seat of both bondage and release is widely shared among Indian schools, and Shankara's school absorbed it into its account of ignorance and knowledge. Eliot Deutsch argues that Advaita treats the mind as an instrument of superimposition, which makes its purification a preparatory discipline for liberation. Sengaku Mayeda's studies of the Vivekachudamani connect this doctrine with the monastic practices of discipline and renunciation. Richard King notes that the notion of mind as the agent of bondage was contested by the Mimamsa and Yoga schools, which assigned different roles to action and concentration. Paul Hacker observes that the formulation belongs to the shared vocabulary of Vedanta and cannot be assigned to Shankara with certainty. The statement reflects a widely held view that the tradition associates with his teaching.
Commentary
This statement, a traditional formulation found in Upanishadic and later Vedantic literature, locates the cause of bondage in the mind's identification with objects of desire and its consequent attachments. The emphasis on the mind as the seat of both bondage and release is widely shared among Indian schools, and Shankara's school absorbed it into its account of ignorance and knowledge. Eliot Deutsch argues that Advaita treats the mind as an instrument of superimposition, which makes its purification a preparatory discipline for liberation. Sengaku Mayeda's studies of the Vivekachudamani connect this doctrine with the monastic practices of discipline and renunciation. Richard King notes that the notion of mind as the agent of bondage was contested by the Mimamsa and Yoga schools, which assigned different roles to action and concentration. Paul Hacker observes that the formulation belongs to the shared vocabulary of Vedanta and cannot be assigned to Shankara with certainty. The statement reflects a widely held view that the tradition associates with his teaching.