Human Development
Shiki
Description:
In all, [yogacara] lists eight consciousnesses open to beings existing in form. The first six are the sense consciousnesses: eye consciousness with visible forms as objects; ear consciousness with sounds as objects; nose consciousness with odours as objects; tongue consciousness with tastes as objects; body or touch consciousness with tangible objects as objects; and mental consciousness with phenomena as objects.[Manas] - the seventh consciousness, is that which interprets and where the feeling of "I" as a separate reality manifests, distilling the experience of the six senses and transmitting the essence of this experience to [alaya-vijnana] or [citta], the eighth consciousness, the storehouse which, although close to pure consciousness, is thus coloured with individuality and carries over the impressions of [manas], conditioned depending upon the previous impressions stored there, into subsequent lives.
[Alaya-vijnana], is the eighth and deepest level of individual consciousness. It is from here that specific "karmic seeds" - [bija] - of essence, arising from causes and conditions, ripen - [vipaka], develop and are passed to [manas], thence triggering thought and action at the sensory level. And it is to [alaya-vijnana] that the essence of sensory experience, "karmic seeds" arising from thought and senses as a result of activity in the delusion that "I" am a separate reality, is conveyed by [manas], perpetuating karma. It is the closest to pure, undifferentiated consciousness, the formless self, like the surface of a great ocean, continuously forming new "crests", the mind and senses, which come and go. It is where personal tendencies - [skandhas] - exist. It is more than a passive, unconscious store, however, as it takes from experience and constantly modifies itself.
Different interpretations consider [alaya-vijnana] as equivalent to [tathata] (suchness), and therefore in fact the "first", the others developing from it, or as simply a product of [karma] in previous lives. Certainly it does not die when the body dies but is reborn in the new body just as the surface of the ocean continuously re-forms in new waves which continuously pass away.
Broader:
Consciousness in Buddhism Narrower:
Sense consciousnessManasAlaya-vijnana Related:
Yogacara