Alaya.

[sky]

Shakyamuni Buddha (Gautama) said:

The storehouse consciousness [alaya] is very deep and subtle; All its seeds are like a torrential flow. I do not explain it to the ignorant, For fear they will cling to it and consider it a self.

Is this teaching found in any Sutras ?

[Jeremy Bong]

Hey Sky, do you want me to explain it in my understanding and my own way of explanation. Or I will do it after few days later and after others do it first.

[sky]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Bong

Hey Sky, do you want me to explain it in my understanding and my own way of explanation. Or I will do it after few days later and after others do it first.

I know what is is Jeremy but cannot find much info: in Sutras, but of course I would be interested in your explaination

Subconscious is similar from my understanding, it seems like a ' Karma dumping ground '

[Jeremy Bong]

Originally Posted by sky123

I know what is is Jeremy but cannot find much info: in Sutras, but of course I would be interested in your explaination

Subconscious is similar from my understanding, it seems like a ' Karma dumping ground '

Sky,

If I explained it then others may not have chances to discuss with you. Especially joneboy (and others), he must be easy to find the explanation for you.

The seeds are the source of human beings.

[sky]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Bong

Sky,

If I explained it then others may not have chances to discuss with you. Especially joneboy (and others), he must be easy to find the explanation for you.

The seeds are the source of human beings.

I know the explanation Jeremy and I understand what it is I was just interested in reading more.

[sky]

The eighth consciousness, called Alaya in Sanskrit], is a very subtle one in our mind.

Upon the actions taken by the first seven consciousnesses, The Alaya consciousness is 'perfumed'to become habituated and efficient in manifestation. That efficiency or energy to produce a result when the conditions are ripened is called a 'seed' It is 'stored' in the Alaya consciousness. Thus, the Alaya consciousness is usually described as the 'seed bed', where all the 'seeds' of good and bad karmas are stored, so it is called 'store consciousness', or 'store-house consciousness'.

The seed will sprout out into the external phenomenal world, corresponding to the manifestation of its former cognition and action. It then turns to some new impressions/ideas after perception, and reflect back in the Alaya consciousness as a new seed. Thus, the seeds accumulate and all are stored there together.

Each seed has infinite power to produce a manifestation. There are basically two kinds of seeds, namely, the old original seeds



and the new perfumed seeds The old seeds latent in the Alaya consciousness exist wholly and completely in the Ten Realms which are ready to be 'perfumed' by external causes, and then manifested. The new seeds are perfumed from time to time. The old and new seeds together produce all manifestations of the existence of the universe, including all lives.

The old seed, the manifestation and the new seeds are mutually dependent upon each other, forming a cycle, which forever repeats the same process without cessation, unless it is transformed to 'wisdom'. It will be discussed later.

The Alaya consciousness also plays an important role in the rebirth, as it determines what the next form or realm of the life will be, as it keeps all records of all the good and evil actions done in the preceding life, and the seeds will sprout in time when the causal conditions are ripened.


**

Here is some info: Jeremy that might interest you.

[Jeremy Bong]

Sky,

Do you know, what's old and new seeds? And how they can be rebirth? What's seed bed? If you knew those three factors and causes then you would know what's Alaya.

[A human Being]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Bong

Sky,

Do you know, what's old and new seeds? And how they can be rebirth? What's seed bed? If you knew those three factors and causes then you would know what's Alaya.

Why are you assuming that sky doesn't know what Alaya is?

[Jeremy Bong]

Originally Posted by A human Being

Why are you assuming that sky doesn't know what Alaya is?

May be what we got are different.

[Gem]

Not really sure, but 'consciousness' as used i Buddhism refers to the senses - the five we know of with the addition of the mind as a thought perception.

The mind is again split into 3 with thought perception already mentioned, the reactive mind response, and lastly, the entire collation of past experience - either consciously accessible as memory or forgotten.

Of first 5 the last is physical sensation. The other 4 senses are separated as one can not smell a sight or hear a hear a taste, but all the senses enter the body's neurological system; hence all the senses unify at the level of the sensations as the qualia or the 'what it's like' of any experience.

The reactive mind is reacting at this physical sensation level. The senses detect a thing and is noticed, that produces sensational change throughout the body, also noticed, and then the personal reaction occurs.

When a reaction occurs, what is called a sankara is formed, and these remain for a duration. Some short lived as the reaction was mild, and other stronger reactions are etched more deeply and last longer. May reactions are occurring unconsciously, continuously, and these compel both distraction and mindless action.

The storehouse is where these sankara can pile up, referred to as impurity or defilement, and the meditation is not the process of ridding these per se, but the cessation of adding any more, which means the cessation of reactivities that create them.

The old ones in the storehouse start to burn off their psychic energy because there is no reaction to energise them. The sankara arising also causes sensation, to which reaction occurs, which creates sankara, which rises creating sensation which reacts as a sankara, this is the craving for craving itself, and the aversion of aversion, where it becomes such a human complex. Therefore, the meditation is at the sensation level and the mind without reaction, and that awareness is key to the cessation of reaction, and consequentually, the purification of the storehouse of sankara.