Reference: SC: Psychology
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1st–10th century CE
- c. 1st–4th century CE – Classical Sāṅkhya and Yoga coalescence
Sāṅkhya’s dualist metaphysics of puruṣa (pure consciousness) and prakṛti (mind–matter) and its doctrine of three guṇas become the standard theoretical frame for Indian psychological discourse; the Sāṅkhyakārikā (c. 3rd–4th century) systematizes this. - c. 2nd century CE – Full Theravāda Abhidhamma Piṭaka in scholastic use
By around this time the seven Theravāda Abhidhamma books are complete and function as a full-scale “manual of Buddhist psychology,” analyzing consciousness episodes moment by moment. - c. 150–250 CE – Nāgārjuna’s Madhyamaka
Nāgārjuna’s work on śūnyatā (emptiness) deconstructs any fixed essence of self or phenomena, providing a radical psychometaphysical critique of reification and attachment. - c. 2nd–5th century CE – Tattvārtha Sūtra of Umāsvāti
The Jain Tattvārtha Sūtra (c. 2nd–5th century) codifies a full Jain psychology: types of cognition, structure of jīva, karmic influx, bondage, and methods for cessation and shedding of karmic “matter”. - c. 3rd–5th century CE – Pātañjala Yoga Sūtra
The Yoga Sūtra (often placed c. 3rd–4th century CE) formalizes the definition of yoga as citta‑vṛtti‑nirodha, articulates five vṛttis, kleshas, samskāras, and the eightfold path as a graded method of restructuring consciousness. - c. 4th–5th century CE – Yogācāra (Asaṅga, Vasubandhu)
Yogācāra introduces the ālayavijñāna (storehouse consciousness), the eightfold model of consciousness, and the three natures theory, providing a multi‑layered account of conscious and unconscious processes and their transformation. - c. 5th–7th century CE – Mature Abhidharma and Buddhist logic
Later Abhidharma scholastics refine phenomenological maps of mind; Dignāga (c. 5th–6th c.) and Dharmakīrti (7th c.) build a sophisticated epistemology of perception and inference that shapes all later Indo‑Tibetan psychology. - 602–664 CE – Xuanzang’s translation project
The Chinese monk Xuanzang studies Yogācāra and Abhidharma in India (629–645) and returns to Chang’an with 657 texts, transmitting Indian psychological doctrines to East Asia and catalyzing Chinese Yogācāra and consciousness‑only schools. - c. 6th–7th century CE – Formation of Chinese Chán (Zen)
By Sui–Tang times, Chán develops as a distinctive meditation-centered Buddhism in China, emphasizing immediate insight into mind‑nature (Buddha‑nature) through contemplative practice rather than discursive analysis. - c. 7th century CE – Wonhyo in Korea
Wonhyo (617–686) formulates “One Mind” and Tongbulgyo (interpenetrated Buddhism), harmonizing diverse doctrines as expressions of a single psychological reality of mind, influencing Korean and East Asian Buddhist psychology. - c. 7th–10th century CE – Early Kashmir Śaivism
Kashmir Śaiva systems (Trika, Pratyabhijñā, etc.) elaborate a non‑dual psychology where consciousness (Śiva) is intrinsically luminous and creative, and bondage is a contracted mode of awareness to be expanded through specific contemplative methods. - c. 8th–9th century CE – Śaṅkara and Advaita Vedānta
Śaṅkara (traditionally c. 788–820) systematizes non‑dual Vedānta, distinguishing the witnessing consciousness (sākṣin) from mind’s modifications and using sravaṇa–manana–nididhyāsana as a graded cognitive therapy for avidyā (ignorance). - c. 10th–11th century CE – Rāmānuja’s Viśiṣṭādvaita
Rāmānuja (c. 1017–1137) articulates a relational psychology of self as a part of Brahman, giving primacy to bhakti (devotional feeling) and śaraṇāgati (surrender) as transformative mental practices. - c. 10th–11th century CE – Abhinavagupta’s synthesis
Abhinavagupta (c. 950–1020) integrates Kashmir Śaivism and aesthetics into a comprehensive theory of consciousness, recognition (pratyabhijñā), and aesthetic–spiritual experience, open to householders and non‑renunciates.
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