Store Consciousness - Verse One

Mind is a field

in which every kind of seed is sown.

This mind-field can also be called 

'all the seeds'.

According to Vijñaptimātra teachings there are eight consciousnesses. The five sense consciousnesses - that of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch associated with the corresponding senses. The other three are the mind consciousness, the manas and the store consciousness.

The five sense consciousnesses arise when there is contact. When sound comes into contact with the fully functional sense organ, ear, the sound consciousness arises. The mind consciousness arises when the mind comes into contact with an object, like the inputs from the five sense consciousnesses or thoughts. 

Manas is the base of the mind consciousness and when obscured by ignorance it acts as the discriminating mind which gives rise to the illusion of self and others. When transformed, manas becomes the mind of equality which through the wisdom of interbeing understands that we are not separate or different from others. The manas and the other six consciousnesses arise from the store consciousness - alayavijñana.

The store consciousness is a field with seeds sown in it. Through our actions of the body, speech and mind water the seeds in the store consciousness. After some time, and in some cases almost instantaneously, the seeds grow into plants and bear fruit. Some seeds are wholesome, some unwholesome. Some seeds are sown by our actions and experiences, some by our ancestors and family, some by schooling and education, some by friends and society, so on. All the actions that we perform, all the perceptions that we acquire are stored in the store consciousness. Since according to the Vijñaptimātra teachings, the mind and its object are not separate but one, the store consciousness and the seeds are not separate from each other. They are one.

Manas (the discriminating mind) influences all our actions. It functions even when we are asleep. Manas clings to certain aspects of the store consciousness. Manas is convinced that our form (body), feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousnesses are "me" and that this "me" exists by itself, separate from others. It clings to these five heaps. Vijñaptimātra training helps transform our consciousnesses. With training, manas begins to see, through the wisdom of interbeing and interpenetration, that these five heaps are empty of inherent existence, that they are not separate from everything else.

When manas is transformed it releases the store consciousness from its grips and we are liberated. The released store consciousness becomes the Great Mirror wisdom. The transformed manas becomes the wisdom of equality. The mind consciousness becomes the wisdom of wonderful observation and the five sense consciousnesses become the wisdom of wonderful realization.

Guru-Buddha, Thich Nhat Hanh, narrates the story of a river. This river falls in love with a beautiful cloud. When the cloud disappears she is very sad. However, when she realizes how she transforms into water vapor to form clouds and how clouds transform into rain, she is liberated from the suffering of separation. Guru-Buddha says, "We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness."

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