1. Definition of Alaya

The Sanskrit word Alaya, translated into Chinese as "hidden", has three meanings: able to hide, what is hidden, and what I love to hold on to.

1. Able to store: It means that this consciousness can store the seeds of the three natures of dye, purity, good, evil, and unrecorded, such as a warehouse that can store grain seeds such as rice and wheat.

2. Hidden: This consciousness is smoked by the first seven existing consciousnesses, smoked into habits (different names for seeds), stored in this consciousness, and reappeared when encountering opportunities. As far as being smoked is concerned, the first seven consciousnesses are capable of being smoked, and this consciousness is smoked.

3. The possession of self-love: This consciousness is the main body of life, and is often held by the seventh-end consciousness as self, including the self-image of people and the self-image of Dharma, which gives rise to self-delusion, self-view, self-arrogance, and self-consciousness. Love is the foundation of life and death.

4. This consciousness has three characteristics: the self is held by the seventh consciousness, the cause is the fact that the seeds are contained, and the body of consciousness is the karma. Feelings of strange ripeness are always reported as fruit.

2. The Three Alayas

In the journey from being an ordinary person to becoming a determined practitioner, there are three persons: 1. Alaya Consciousness, 2. , the status of good and evil karma, 3. the status of continuous persistence.

1. From an ordinary person to the Bodhisattva position on the seventh journey: the Alaya consciousness position

2. From an ordinary person to the tenth Dharma cloud place: the result of good and evil karma

p>

3. From ordinary people to Buddhahood: the stage of continuous persistence

The reasons:

1. From the stage of qualifications, the stage of preliminaries, and the stage of enlightenment , realize the vacuum of contract, reach the first joyful place, realize the self-phase and the internal phase of all dharmas, and first turn into the wisdom of wonderful observation. At the seventh far journey, the two obstacles have been eliminated, and then perfection can be achieved; the seventh final consciousness , stop clinging to self, observe all dharma, all living beings are equal, and at the same time turn into the wisdom of equality, that is, give up the name of Alaya.

2. Ordinary people have staged birth and death, and Bodhisattvas have different births and deaths (the common habits and habits have not been eliminated, and there are still ups and downs). Up to the tenth Dharma Cloud Land, they all belong to the continuation of karma and results.

3. Ten days later, through the Vajra Path and the Path of Liberation, you will attain the Buddha's position and become a continuum of pure goodness without leakage. This consciousness is also called Athana consciousness (translated as persistence), which means that this consciousness persists in the seed whether it is in the ordinary position or the holy position, and it continues continuously. But in the Buddha's position, because it is pure and pure, with great wisdom and great compassion, it benefits sentient beings, this consciousness turns into Amarā consciousness, which is translated as untainted consciousness.

3. Alaya Consciousness Transformation

Only when the eighth consciousness is in the ultimate position can the perfect transformation be achieved.

(1) Get rid of the obstacles of worries and obtain the Great Nirvana (Nirvana without abiding)

(2) Get rid of the obstacles of perception and achieve the Great Bodhi (True Nature Bodhi)

The wisdom transformed from this consciousness is called Great Round Mirror Wisdom. What is Great Round Mirror Wisdom? As the Theory of Consciousness-only Theory says: "The great round mirror's wisdom corresponds to the quality of the mind. It is said that this quality of mind is free from all distinctions. The objects and behaviors are subtle and difficult to understand. It does not forget the appearance of all situations. Its nature is pure and free from all impurities. It is pure and perfect. The present kind of support can manifest the mind and shadow of the body and earth, and it will be endless and endless in the future, just like a large round mirror showing all the colors." (For detailed explanation, please refer to the Commentary) The first five consciousnesses are also at this time, and they are fully transformed into the wisdom of doing things, dividing the body into the earthly realm, and benefiting sentient beings.

The three bodies and four wisdoms of Buddhahood are as follows:

┌1. Dharmakaya: the pure body of self-nature┌Three bodies┤2. Sambhogakaya: the body of receiving and using│　│Self-receiving and using The body, others use the body│　└3. Incarnation: should be incarnated, the ultimate position of the transformed body: Buddha fruit┤　│　┌1. Turn to the first five consciousnesses: the wisdom of accomplishment│　│2. Turn to the sixth consciousness: the wisdom of wonderful observation└Four wisdoms┤ 3. Turn to the seventh consciousness: the wisdom of equality└4. Turn to the eighth consciousness: the wisdom of the great round mirror

4. The reason for the existence of Alaya

(1) Sutra basis< /p>

The Theory of Consciousness-Only is based on the Buddha's teachings and uses the Five Teachings and Ten Principles to prove the existence of this consciousness.

The classics of the Five Religions include: Mahayana Abhidharma Sutra, Interpretation of the Deep Tantric Sutra, Entering the Lankavatara Sutra, and the original treatises of the Hinayana Theravada and the Transformation Ground. This is not a complicated quote.

Ten Principles:

1. The Sutra says that this consciousness can collect the seeds of all kinds of dharmas that are pure and impure (gather all the seeds and give rise to all behaviors), so it is called the heart. Without this awareness, all the functions of detaining and purifying dharmas have no place to exist and cannot arise. Wouldn't it be a donation? This is not the case.

2. The Qi Sutra says: This consciousness is called the familiar mind. It is due to the persistence of good and evil karma and the chance to feel the positive retribution of sentient beings. Without this knowledge, the different familiar mind cannot be known. established.

3. Sentient beings flow through five pleasures and four lives. Without this awareness, the body of pleasure and rebirth cannot be obtained.

4. Formed sambhogakaya is received through this consciousness.

5. The three consciousnesses of longevity and warmth constitute life span. Without this consciousness, longevity and warmth cannot last for a long time. The previous six consciousnesses are discontinuous and cannot be continuous for a long time.

6. This consciousness "becomes the master first after passing away". Without this consciousness, life and death will continue and the cycle of three lives will not be established.

7. At the moment of birth, the three phases of "name, form, and consciousness" exist in dependence. Without this consciousness, name and form (the newly formed body and the six or seven consciousnesses that have not yet emerged) will have nothing to depend on. .

8. Beings live in accordance with the four kinds of food, namely eating in segments, touching food, thinking about food, and knowing food. This awareness of food refers to the eighth consciousness.

9. After entering the cessation of annihilation, the six consciousnesses can no longer exist, the longevity and warmth are still there, and there is still life, that is, this consciousness is held on.

10. This consciousness can hold all kinds of defilements and purify them. The Sutra says: "The heart is impure, so there are impurities, and the heart is pure, so the feelings are pure." Cause and effect are not mixed, that is, because this consciousness can hold the seeds without losing them. .

(2) Modern views

1. According to traditional Chinese saying, the heart is the main body of thought. It is said that "the heart is the organ of thinking", "the heart hides the spirit", etc. In fact, the heart is responsible for blood circulation. Strong heart blood will lead to refreshment and refreshment, while heart failure will cause various diseases.

2. Modern physiology maintains that cranial nerves are the main body of thought. In the 1950s, Soviet scholar Pavlov edited and published "Neurology" and advocated that nerves have: the first signaling system (thought) , the second signal system (language), and has excitatory processes, inhibitory processes, conditioned reflexes, unconditioned reflexes, etc., which can be described as detailed. But when it comes to how nerve cells are combined into thoughts? How are nerve alternating current waves generated? Why does consciousness and life still exist after the diseased brain nerves are amputated (there are examples both at home and abroad)? There is no explanation and it remains a mystery.

Western scientists Einstein, Edison... and modern Chinese scientist Qian Xuesen all said: The potential of consciousness and life still exists, but it has not been discovered and cannot be denied at will; otherwise it is not the attitude of a scientist.

3. According to modern scientific experiments, matter and ability are immortal. Materialists say that thought and consciousness are the highest substances. How can they be eliminated?

4. European religionists and Indian Vedanta sects both believe that all things have an origin. However, this does not make sense based on the continuity of life and the immortality of matter. For example: The existence of this grain seed is the result of the function of the previous grain seed. The former will be before and the back will be after. will be destroyed. Therefore, the existence of the present mental force is only the continuation of the past mental force. The current mental energy must continue into the future and will not stop. The German philosopher Leibniz famously said: "One perception naturally comes from another perception, just like a movement naturally comes from another movement."

Master Taixu once said metaphorically: " Artificial ginger will never produce buds, and artificial eggs will never produce chickens, because it has no vitality or life." This is a very meaningful and factual analogy.

There are many more analogies like this in the Sutra of Sutras Spoken by the Buddha and the Sutra of One Hundred Yus. We do not deny the existence of life, but the existence of the ten dharma realms of saints and mortals. This is the empirical realm achieved by the Buddha through practice, and it is the truth of objective existence. The Buddha is a man of great wisdom, and the Dharma is a brilliant guiding light.