Is reality a pure consciousness?

 Reality is eternal and permanent; that it is blissful because it is permanent for what is permanent is bliss and what is momentary is misery Absolute idealism (Vijnapti- matrata- Siddhi) 

If reality is pure consciousness then the external objects does not exist outside of thoughts. 

All the three worlds do not exist outside of thought. Mind, consciousness, knowledge are synonyms. External objects depend on thoughts like the hair seen floating in the atmosphere or life the perception of the double moon. It is declared that the phenomenal is like water in a jar, while the absolute is like the vast ocean. The intellect is transcended in the last meditation in which the meditation becomes one with the Real. The pure knowledge is called ‘Shramnaya’ as well as Brahmanya.

But critics urged that is external objects do not exist then we cannot account for their spatial determination and their temporal determination. That means that the determination of the perceiving stream of consciousness and the fruitful activity which follows their knowledge.

Yadi Vijaryati Anarya Niyamo Deshkalyo Santansththiniyamash ch yukta kratathata.

If representation arises without their being any external sense objects then how is it that an object is seen in a particular place and a particular time? And how is it that all persons and not one person only, present at that particular place and time perceive that particular object? How is it that fruitful activity is possible> If things like food, water, cloth, poison, weapon etc. seen in a dream and purely imaginary and devoid of activity, it does not mean that real food, and real water also cannot satisfy hunger and thirst. External objects therefore must exist

Reply- These four things mentioned by the opponent do not justify independent existence of external objects because they are found even in dream and in hell where these are not external objects. Even in dream things like city, a garden, a woman etc are seen in a particular place and at a particular time and not in all places and at all times.

Fruitful activity too result from unreal dream objects, for the roaring of a dream- a tiger causes real fear and disturbs sleep and an erotic dream is followed by consequences which are physically real.

Again, all those persons and not one of them only, who on account of their bad deeds go to hell, see the same river of puss etc. Thus there is in determination of the stream of consciousness. So in dreams and in hell all these four things are present though there are no external objects- the informal guards cannot be real because they themselves do not suffer, the agony of hell, the critics admits that informal guards are produced by the force of the deeds of those persons who go to hell but the force or the impression of the deed is in consciousness while its result is wrongly imagined by the critics to be outside consciousness. How can it be possible that the impression as well as theory of the deed must be in consciousness itself? Consciousness is the only reality.

Consciousness

Consciousness manifests itself into subject as well as into object. It arises out of its own seeds and then it manifests itself as an external object. Buddha said that there are two bases of cognition- internal and external- by knowing this, one realized that there is no personal ego and that there are no external objects as both are only manifestation of consciousness.

The indescribable pure consciousness which is to be directly realized by the Buddha can never e denied. It cannot be conceived by intellect. The idea of pure consciousness conceived by limited though with the help of its category of existence and is also unreal. For, if it were real the conception of intellect would be real and this would undermine the doctrine that pure consciousness alone exists. Pure consciousness cannot be grasped by intellect as an object but this do not mean that pure consciousness in itself does not exist.

Perception cannot guarantee the existence of external objects because the awareness is the same even in dreams and in the perception there is a double moon, memory too does not imply the perception of an external object but only its consciousness. Before we are fully awake we cannot now that dream objects are unreal. Things seen in a dream are as real to the dreamer as any object is to us. It is only when we are awake and realizes the unreality of dream objects. Similarly the worldly people are slumbering in ignorance and they do not realize as long as they are under the infatuation of ignorance. The world does not really exist and it is only when true knowledge comes the fact that reality is pure consciousness is realized

Svapre Drgvisava Bhavan Napara Biddh Vagechchota

Intellect inevitably involves itself in dualism and unless the subject- object duality is transcended we cannot realize reality.

Reality is pure consciousness but as this reality is beyond discursive, intellect cannot fully grasp by it. It can by only realize by transcending subject-object duality by going beyond the intellect and by embracing pure consciousness.

Then what is suffering?

Suffering is (KleshaVarana) which leads to all sort of suffering and it is because of the false notion of the reality of the individual subject and Suffering is (Jneyavarana) which seems the real nature of the object and is because of the false notion of the reality of external objects.

How these sufferings (KleshaVarana and JneyaVarana) can be destroyed?

It is through (Trimshika). Reality is pure consciousness and this reality on account of its inherent power suffers three fold modifications. (1) Vipaka which is a store house of consciousness where the seeds of all phenomena are present. Here, the universal consciousness manifests itself in two forms

(a)   It takes the form of an individual subject or ego.

(b)   It manifests itself in the form of various mental states and of the external objects.