BuddhaSasana Home Page English Section  Alayavijnana - Store
Consciousness  Venerable Dr. Walpola Rahula  In the Yogacara
(Vijnanavada) School of Buddhism, alayavijnana is one of the
most important doctrines developed by Asanga (fourth century
A.C.). He divides the vijnanaskandha (Aggregate of Conciousness)
the fifth of the five skandhas, into three different aspects or
layers, namely, citta, manas and vijnana. In the Theravada
Tipitaka as well as in the Pali Commentaries, these three terms
- citta, manas, vijnana - are considered as synonyms denoting
the same thing. The Sarvistivada also takes them as synonyms.
Even the Lankavatarasutra, which is purely a Mahayana text,
calls them synonyms although their separate functions are
mentioned elsewhere in the same sutra. Vasubandhu, too, in his
Vimsatikavijnapti-matratasiddhi considers them as synonyms.
Since any one of these three terms - citta, manas, vijnanas -
represents some aspect, even though not all aspects, of the
fifth Aggregate vijnanaskandha, they may