Editing Buddhi (section)

== The Sānkhya-Yoga view ==
According to the [[Samkhya|Sānkhya-Yoga]] view, ''buddhi'' is in essence unconscious, and as such, cannot be an object of its own consciousness. This means that it can neither apprehend an object nor manifest itself.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Saksena |first=Shri Krishna |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1256407633 |title=Essays on Indian Philosophy |isbn=978-0-8248-8595-3 |oclc=1256407633}}</ref>

In the [[Yoga Sutras of Patanjali|Yoga Sutra]], it is explained that the ''buddhi'' cannot illuminate itself, since it itself is the object of sight, "na tat svhāsam draśhyatvāt".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Patañjali. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/34894404 |title=Yoga : discipline of freedom : the Yoga Sutra attributed to Patanjali ; a translation of the text, with commentary, introduction, and glossary of keywords |date=1996 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-20190-6 |oclc=34894404}}</ref>

In the [[Samkhyakarika]], ''buddhi'', originally referred to as ''[[Mahat-tattva|mahat]]'', is the fundamental entity that emerges during Prakrti's cosmic self-transformation. It has the sense of knowledge, and is synonymous with words like thought, idea, wisdom, and insight. Buddhi is characterized by its function as judgment, as it not only identifies the nature of things but also determines the best course of action. From ''buddhi'' arises ''[[ahamkara]]'', the "I-maker", which begins the cosmic differentiation, producing inner sensation (''[[indriya]]'') through its transformed (''sattvika'') aspect and external perceptions through its elemental (''tamasika'') aspect, laying the foundation for subjectivity, objectivity, and self-awareness.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Parrott |first=Rodney J. |last2=Parrot |first2=Rodney J. |date=1986 |title=The Problem of the Sāṃkhya Tattvas as Both Cosmic and Psychological Phenomena |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/23444164 |journal=Journal of Indian Philosophy |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=55–77 |issn=0022-1791}}</ref>