Vijñāna
/vɪdʒˈɲɑːnə/noun
In Indian philosophy and Buddhism, consciousness, awareness, or discriminative knowledge.
Did you know?In Buddhist teachings, vijñāna is one of the five aggregates and is described as conditioned and changing rather than an eternal personal essence.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵneh₃-
“To know, recognize, or perceive”
Vedic Sanskrit
Sanskrit
jñāna
“Knowledge, understanding, or knowing”
Classical Sanskrit
Sanskrit
vijñāna
“Discriminating knowledge, discernment, or consciousness; vi- adds the sense of distinction or separation”
3rd Century BCE onward
Pali
viññāṇa
“Consciousness or awareness, especially as a conditioned factor in Buddhist analysis”
19th–20th Century
English
vijnana / vijñāna
“A technical term used in translations and scholarship on Hindu and Buddhist philosophy”
Modern English
English
vijñāna
“Consciousness, awareness, or discriminative cognition”