The Buddhist Concept of Vasana

Vasana is a crucial technical term in Yogacara philosophy, particularly in relation to bija (seeds) in alayavijñana, though it holds little doctrinal significance in early Buddhism. However, interpretations of vasana in one Buddhist context cannot always be applied to another. Rather than asking what vasana is, the primary research question of this book is which type of vasana is being referenced. This book presents a genealogical study of the development of the Buddhist concept of vasana, drawing on primary sources in Sanskrit, Tibetan, Classical Chinese, and Pali. It traces the diverse origins of the concept and demonstrates the close doctrinal relationship between Abhidharma and Yogacara. Based on the contexts in which the term occurs, the book explores the main ideas conveyed by vasana in Buddhist texts from the following four basic aspects: (1) karmic imprints, (2) meditative impregnation and impregnation of conditioned dharmas, (3) traces of defilements (klesavasana), and (4) impression from hearing (srutavasana) the Dharma. The book then discusses how these different connotations of vasana were synthesized in the Yogacara-Vijñanavada tradition, resulting in later Buddhists regarding the term as a unified, self-consistent concept. Through this genealogical inquiry, the book seeks to identify the historical contexts and theoretical paradigms in which Buddhist thinkers formulated and developed doctrines concerning vasana. In addition, it also examines how vasana eventually came to be regarded as synonymous with bija in the Yogacara-Vijñanavada tradition.