pañca-jñāna

pañca-jñāna (Skt., five awarenesses). The five facets of perfect enlightenment (bodhi), especially according to Yogācāra-based Mahāyāna doctrines, ultimately derived from the Mahāyāna Buddhabhūmi Sūtra. The ‘five awarenesses’ are (1) the Awareness of Suchness (tathatā-jñāna) or Dharma-dhātu Awareness, which is the bare non-conceptualizing awareness of emptiness (śūnyatā) and acts as the basic ground unifying the other four; (2) Mirror-like Awareness (ādarśa-jñāna) which is devoid of all dualistic thought and ever united with its ‘content’ as a mirror is with its reflections; (3) Awareness of Sameness (samatā-jñāna) which perceives the identity of all phenomena (dharma); (4) the Investigating Awareness (pratyavekṣaṇa-jñāna) which perceives the general and specific qualities of all phenomena; and (5) Awareness of Accomplishing Activities (kṛty-anuṣṭhāna-jñāna) which spontaneously carries out all that has to be done for the welfare of beings, manifesting itself in all directions. According to Yogācāra thought, these awarenesses emerge through a transformation (parāvṛtti) of the eight consciousnesses at the moment of enlightenment. The concept of the five awarenesses later underwent considerable development with the rise of tantric Buddhism where they are said to be symbolized or embodied in the form of the five Jinas, Vairocana, Akṣobhya, Ratnasaṃbhava, Amitābha, and Amoghasiddhi.