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ON THE THE CONCEPT OF ĀLAYAVIJÑĀNA IN THE PAÑCASKANDHAKAVIBHĀṢĀBY STHIR (continued)

ON THE THE CONCEPT OF ĀLAYAVIJÑĀNA IN THE PAÑCASKANDHAKAVIBHĀṢĀBY STHIR (continued)

By Dr. MAXIM VOROSHILOV

My contribution to the knowledge box today will include another, more enlarged and detailed, discussion of the concept of ālayavijñāna. Particularly I will dwell more on the explanation of AV as it is presented in the Pañcaskandhakavibhāṣā of Sthiramati which is his commentary on the Pañcaskandhaka by Vasubandhu.
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The concept of ālayavijñāna, also known as store-consciousness, the treasury of consciousness is a concept unique to the philosophy of yogācāra. This consciousness is an addition to the six kinds of consciousness, accepted by the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma, five kinds of consciousness related to the senses and mind.
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In the previous contribution, I elaborated on why the tradition required another consciousness so that a number of phenomena would be clarified. Today, we are going to consider the reasons why the concept was given that name.
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According to PSKVi, the first reason why it is called storehouse consciousness is that it keeps the seeds of the afflicted states. Second, because all the entities are the result of the storehouse consciousness. Either they live in the storehouse consciousness or it, being their cause, resides in them. It is also stated that individual existence also arises from the storehouse consciousness.
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It is said that the storehouse consciousness owes its name to the fact that it is a storehouse and cause of belief in Self. Alternatively, it is said that the storehouse consciousness is the cause of the belief in Self.
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Another reason the storehouse consciousness is called like this is that it penetrates the whole body. The text also says that ālayavijñāna can also be referred to as ādānavijñāna, appropriating consciousness because it appropriates a human’s embodied existence.