Quotes:
“Mahāmati! In brief, there are three types of consciousness, which
can be extensively expanded to eight aspects. What are those three? They are
the true consciousness, the manifesting consciousness, and the
phenomena-differentiating consciousness.”
Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, Volume 1, “Words and Thoughts of all the Buddhas”
「大慧!略說有三種識,廣說有八相。何等為三?謂真識、現識,及分別事識。」Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra《楞伽阿跋多羅寶經
》卷一〈一切佛語心品〉
Remarks: (Excerpts from Commentary on Cheng Weishi Lu, Vol. 1)
According to Buddhist scriptures, the universe and the lives of
sentient beings have originated from the mind, the eighth consciousness (tathāgatagarbha).
The intrinsic nature of the tathāgatagarbha is permanent and neither
arises nor ceases. In Triṃśikā-vijñaptimātratā (唯識三十論誦), Bodhisattva
Vasubandhu states, “There are only three types of consciousness that can
transform and generate the self and dharma in three realms:
maturation-consciousness, decision-making consciousness, and
state-discriminating consciousness.” The statement of Bodhisattva Vasubandhu is
based on the statements in the chapter “Words and Thoughts of all the Buddhas” in
Volume 1 of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra.
The first type of consciousness that is true and permanently abides
and is thus called the true consciousness is the fundamental consciousness of
all sentient beings—the eighth maturation-consciousness or ālāya-consciousness.
The manifesting-consciousness, which prompts the true consciousness to
transform and generate various dharmas, is the second type, the
seventh-consciousness mental faculty, also known as the manas-consciousness; it
can induce the true consciousness to arise myriad dharmas, hence being called
the manifesting-consciousness. The third type of consciousness, which
distinguishes all the phenomena of the six sense objects, is mental awareness,
etc., the perceptive mind of the six consciousnesses. The discerning mind of
the six consciousnesses applies to those who have not eliminated the self-view
and abide therein.
In other words, the notion of mental objects are the things that are
apprehended (perceived), which are among the five sense objects to be perceived
by the apprehender (perceiver). That is, these six consciousnesses require the
supportive conditions of the three dharmas of sense faculties, sense objects,
and contact before they can be brought forth from the eighth true
consciousness, tathāgatagarbha. Once these six consciousnesses have
arisen, they are collectively called the consciousness aggregate, which is part
of the five aggregates (concealments).
The ability to discern and the act of discerning both denote the
apprehender (perceiver). The perceptive mind as the apprehender, comprising the
mental faculty (manas), the mental consciousness, and so forth. These essentially
consist of the dharmas of duality. Thus, practitioners must first truly
understand the arising sequences of the five aggregates, including the
consciousness aggregates to understand the impermanent nature of the five
aggregates. As such, practitioners will then be able to rid themselves of the
notion that the perceptive mind or the mental consciousness is permanent. Such
is referred to as the wisdom of “eliminating self-view.”
Hence, only when the mind is intrinsically away from seeing,
hearing, feeling, and cognizing, free from the apprehender, both the mental
consciousness and the mental faculty (manas), and from the five sense objects
or the mental objects being apprehended, can it denote the permanently existent
True Mind, the ālāya-consciousness or tathāgatagarbha that
encompasses the three categories of vijñānas.
#Buddha #alayaconsciousness #tathagatagarbha #Vasubandhu #Triṃśikā-vijñaptimātratā