Ālaya-vijñāna

Synonyms

Ālaya; Basis consciousness; Sarvabījaka; Storehouse consciousness; Substratum consciousness

Definition

The theory of Ālayavijnāna was elaborated by the Yogācāra school of Mahāyāna Buddhism in India. Ālayavijñāna (“storehouse consciousness”) is a receptacle where the various dispositions of the future determinations are stored. According to the Yogācāra, the “seeds” deposited here provide the connection between the past, present, and future of a subjective personality and its experiences.

Introduction

The word “ālaya” means “abode” or “house,” and it implies, in the theory of ālayavijñāna, a “source” in the sense of “location” (sthāna). The term “vijñāna,” as it is in the entire Buddhist corpus, means “consciousness.” (In Buddhism, vijñāna (see Vijñāna) corresponds to the resulting activity when the mental and physical organs come into contact with external objects, and the input derived from such contact is associated, recognized, and subsequently acted upon.) Thus, ālayavijñāna...