user289: And in particular, is it eternal, unchanging and like any other formulation for a soul that we might have seen, in say Christianity or Hinduism?
This particular idea, that ālaya-vijñāna is like a permanent self, is mentioned in "Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist", by Stephen Bachelor.

user37: Currently I'm trying to read the "Stilling the Mind" by Alan Wallace. Although he tries to be detailed and didactic, it's very dense. In this book he translates and explains Dudjom Lingpa's Vajra Essence, from Dzogchen school.
If I understood correctly, he uses the expression substrate consciousness for alayavijnana, and he says that in Theravada it's called bhavanga. The five senses and the mind manifest in it. Dreams and after-death bardo also happens on alayavijnana, acording to Alan Wallace.
It isn't like a soul, but it is a continuum of consciousness. It gives the sense of continuity of time, and even after sleeping it allows us to feel this continuity.
And it isn't a self, which is disclaimed by vipassana. But it could be said that it is a self devoid of color, sound, smell, taste, shape or concepts. So it's not a common self.
I don't know if alayavijnana is permanent, but it lasts more than the phenomena of the five senses, the mind and the dreams. It seems that alayavijnana is the consciousness that enable the manifestation of phenomena, or that perceives them manifesting.

user2265: 
The Buddha himself said that he didn't want to talk about the alaya because people would confuse it for a permanent self.
So the answer to your 2nd question is a clear and emphatic NO.
Let's honor his advice and not philosophize about it too much either because understanding and transforming the alaya (and the rest of the consciousness skandha) is the work of a bodhisattva who has mastered the jhanas and already attained Arhatship, something we are not at.
On the other hand... (from Wikipedia):

A similar perspective is give by Walpola Rahula. According to Walpola
Rahula, all the elements of the Yogācāra storehouse-consciousness are
already found in the Pāli Canon.[36] He writes that the three layers
of the mind (citta, manas, and vijñana) as presented by Asaṅga are
also mentioned in the Pāli Canon:
Thus we can see that 'Vijñāna' represents the simple reaction or
response of the sense organs when they come in contact with external
objects. This is the uppermost or superficial aspect or layer of the
'Vijñāna-skandha'. 'Manas' represents the aspect of its mental
functioning, thinking, reasoning, conceiving ideas, etc. 'Citta' which
is here called 'Ālayavijñāna', represents the deepest, finest and
subtlest aspect or layer of the Aggregate of consciousness. It
contains all the traces or impressions of the past actions and all
good and bad future possibilities.[37]

Anyway, go to page 217 of How to Measure and Deepen Your Spiritual Realization for the clearest account on Alaya that currently exists--at least one that I trust--since we are in the territory of Mind-Only after all... The book is a little expensive but worth it.
Below is a dump of that sub-chapter.

THE EIGHTH (ALAYA) CONSCIOUSNESS The seventh consciousness deposits
its impressions on the eighth consciousness, or alaya, which, as we
have seen, functions as the storehouse of all the residual impressions
left by the functioning of the prior seven consciousnesses. The alaya
does no real judging on its own. Instead, it serves as the neutral
storehouse of all the ìseedsî or germs of everything within the Three
Realms, including all our ideas and the impressions we experience.
This is why it is often called the ìstorehouse of our seeds of
experience.î It is also sometimes called the ìreceptacle
consciousnessî due to the fact that these seeds lie within it. Since
the intermingling of the seeds produces our karma, which is the
retribution of actions we commit in either this life or from previous
lives, it is also at times called the ìretribution consciousness.î All
the consciousnesses have various names, and these are just a few that
we have for the alaya. Asanga said, ìthe objective world and the
subjective ego are only manifestations of the universal consciousness
[alaya],î which helps us further understand its great functioning.
Since the fruits or phenomena which evolve from it mature at varying
times and in varying categories, it is also called the ìvarying
maturing consciousness.î The universal ground of the alaya is a
neutral state, like a mirror which simply reflects things but whose
images are neither good nor bad in themselves. The alaya consciousness
is omnipresent, but if it were not for the functioning of the other
seven consciousnesses, it would not create good and bad karma or
interact with phenomena. Therefore it is described as ìnonrevolving
and indefinite.î In the novel The Journey to the West, the fact that
the monk Xuan Zang always seemed so useless was because he represented
this ìnonrevolvingî eighth consciousness which is ineffective by
itself. In the story, the monk always had to rely on the efforts of
the monkey Sun Wu-kung to get anything done because the monkey
represented the actionable working mind or sixth consciousness. In
describing how consciousness works, it is easiest to say that the
seeds within the alaya ìsurfaceî and are engendered: when conditions
are proper, seeds that are normally covered sprout so as to give rise
to the corresponding experiences. Thus, it is the alaya consciousness
that ultimately gives birth to the manifestation of phenomenal states,
and this happens when the proper conditions come together so that
relevant experiences and circumstances can manifest. In other words,
the seeds within the alaya are always being ìperfumedî
(cross-pollinated, or cross-fertilized) by the first seven
consciousnesses. Furthermore, the seeds within it are always being
influenced by each other because of mutual interaction. This is the
process of ceaseless, subtle transformation that defines the alayaís
workings, and the subtle nature of this transformation is the reason
that no super-computer could ever perfectly predict the karma
determined by the alaya. Nevertheless, through this process of
turning, perfuming or transforming, our karma is always being
determined, and sometimes this karma can be foreknown. As a side note,
this is also the key for how you can change or defer unfortunate karma
that is due. Simply prevent the necessary contributing circumstances
from transpiring, and then the environment that would produce bad
fortune will not occur. Rather, it will have to wait for another time
to manifest when all the proper conditions come together. When you
become enlightened, you will even learn how to change your karma
rather than defer it. You will also become able to understand the
eventual karmic results of all deeds, as well as see the prior acts
responsible for someoneís current karmic conditions. While the various
seeds within the alaya are engendered to affect the various
consciousnesses and bring about experiential realms, we must remember
that the consciousnesses simultaneously perfume the seeds, so they
become in their turn causes which perfume and mature seeds, and which
thereby in turn produce further seeds of experience. The seeds, the
consciousnesses that perfume them, and the seeds subsequently
engendered by this perfuming revolve in a cycle, simultaneously and
reciprocally acting as cause and effect. This is the perfuming of
subtle transformation, a process of interconnected seeds rushing
onwards as a torrential whole whose miraculous movements can never be
stopped. Mind will always be, and the material world will always be,
and there is no possible stopping of either. This is why you must
learn detachment, and how to skillfully master these processes. This
is a very deep and complicated topic. It is so profound that it is
very easy to take it the wrong way. The Dharma master Xuan Zang tried
to summarize these principles by saying, a seed produces a
manifestation, and a manifestation perfumes a seed (simultaneously
acts as a cause and effect). The seeds, the manifestation and
perfuming turn on and on, functioning at one and the same time as
cause and effect. ... Consciousness, from beginningless time, is born
and perishes again from moment to moment, ever successively changing.
As cause it perishes and as fruit it is born again. Through the
evolution of the other consciousnesses the alaya is perfumed and forms
seeds (of future experience). Its sequence of cause and effect is like
a rushing torrent which flows ever onward in sequence, carrying with
it [seeds which] sometimes float and sometimes sink [assume greater or
lesser roles of activity and passivity]. Thus, there is the successive
sequence from beginninglessness of being born and perishing, so that
there is neither permanence nor impermanence. When you finally become
a Buddha through your cultivation efforts, all the seeds of your alaya
consciousness will have been transformed to become pure virtue. Your
stream of mind events and behavior will have all assumed a virtuous
character that is unimaginable. When you reach the realm of the alaya
consciousness through spiritual cultivation and transform it into a
purified, cleansed consciousness, then you can completely ìilluminate
mind and see the true nature.î This is when you can transform it back
into its original inherent identity as the matrix womb of the Buddhas.
This is sort of like flipping any yin aspect of the alaya into a yang
aspect entirely. When you do this we can call the alaya consciousness
the ìenlightenment Tathagata Storehouse,î but before this achievement
it is simply called the alaya or eighth consciousness. Before becoming
a fully enlightened Buddha, the three kinds of seeds that are
necessary for attaining self-realization remain inactive. They are
there, but you never activate them because you do not cultivate the
conditions that lead to their germination. In other words, you do not
put in the required efforts of spiritual cultivation, so the
fruitional results of these seeds do not manifest, but remain covered.
All beings naturally possess these three seeds, but they are not
engendered until they are activated through spiritual striving. These
three seeds include: (1) the seeds for reaching the Hearer state of
attainment (sravaka), which is achieved through listening to the
dharma (2) the seeds for reaching the pratyeka-buddha stage, which
allow you to attain enlightenment without being taught (3) the seeds
for reaching the Bodhisattva enlightenment, which allow you to enter
the Mahayana path The alaya contains the seeds of all experiences,
including the seeds of being attached to the physical body and
sensations that are afflictive barriers to spiritual attainment. Thus,
because of the seeds in the alaya, we all carry around the habit
energy of five sources of error that are major barriers to cultivation
progress, called the five fundamental dwellings: the love of views,
love of desire, love of form, love of the formless, and love of
ignorance. These dwellings of mind always cause affliction and
suffering. Only when you reach the stage of a Buddha can you be free
of these views and experience the immediate presence, or crystal
clarity of nirvana. At this point of spiritual attainment you will
have transformed all the consciousnesses into wisdom functionings. The
alaya acts as a storehouse of the seeds of impressions, but when it is
finally transformed into an enlightened Buddha mind, all things are
manifestly reflected and can be seen as they really are; there is no
intercession of thoughts or idealized images in the way. Thus, when
someone empties the volition skandha and starts cultivating the pure
aggregate of consciousness, they are at the very edge of enlightenment
but not yet awakened to the great matter. At this point, a spiritual
aspirant will be clear and illuminated both inside and out, and we say
they will be able to ìenter without entering.î In other words, the six
sense faculties will be empty and still, and they will no longer run
off in disarray. This does not mean that the sense consciousnesses
will not work anymore, rather it just means they will be clear no
matter what they confront, and so they will function without any
obstructions. At this point you will be able to perceive things
whether the sense organs are operating or not, so you will no longer
be subject to the limitations of the six sense faculties. In fact, at
this stage of attainment you can use the eye to hear or nose to see
since you have reached the root source of the six sense
consciousnesses where they are still undifferentiated. The realm
without entry is the impetus behind the famous spiritual cultivation
method of Avalokiteshvara, which involves listening to sound to trace
hearing back to its source. In this method, which was highly
recommended for our world by the Buddha Manjusri, you return the
function of the hearing-consciousness to the consciousness skandha,
and then fathom the stillness or emptiness within to realize the
self-nature and attain Tao. As Avalokiteshvara reported: I initially
entered the stream of meditation through the sense of hearing, and
thereby forgot the sound of what was heard. As a result, both sounds
(disturbances) and silence (stillness) ceased to arise. Gradually
advancing in this way, both hearing and what was heard both melted
away and vanished, but I did not stop where they ended. When hearing
and what was heard were both forgotten (became empty), there was
nothing to rely upon because hearing left no impression in the mind.
When a sense (like hearing) and the objects of sense both become empty
(in this way), then emptiness and sense merge and reach a state of
absolute perfection. When emptiness and what is being emptied are both
extinguished (emptied or forgotten), then arising and extinction
vanished. At this point the absolute emptiness of nirvana became
manifest, and suddenly I transcended the mundane and supramundane
worlds.4 Thus, it is said, ìEntering the stream, you forget about
where you are, and the entry is already still.î It is also said,
ìReturning the hearing, listen to your nature till the nature reaches
the supreme way.î At this time you will be able to comprehend the
source of all the beings throughout the entire universe, which means
you will be able to ìobserve the origin.î Although people do not
normally recognize it as such, the ability to perceive the fundamental
nature face-to-face is actually the goal of modern science. But
science goes about it in a way that will never succeed. Hopefully the
time will come when scientists recognize that you do not have to
perform investigations with external machines and instruments and
mathematics to ìobserve the origin,î but you can investigate reality
using spiritual prajna and samadhi. When you arrive at the skandha of
consciousness because you have liberated yourself from false thoughts,
you are almost free of the world of defilements, though you have not
finished with it completely. Only when you finally free yourself from
the aggregate of consciousness can you reach complete
self-realization. In other words, enlightenment can be partial or
complete, and partial enlightenment has its own various stages (or
bhumis). Upon enlightenment a practitionerís mind and body, together
with the entire universe, become fused into one, and this whole seems
illumined all the way through like a crystal clear sphere suffused
with light and absent of any obstructions. This is pure, true wondrous
illumination, the perfect purity of fundamental enlightenment. When
the Bible says God is light, it is referring to this state of empty,
infinite, omniscient clarity presence rather than physical light. It
is actually a state of perfect clarity, but the Tibetans sometimes
call this ìluminosityî or ìilluminationî for lack of better terms.
They also call it the ìclear light,î which refers to the primordial
knowing wisdom awareness that is unborn and unconstructed. All the
spiritual schools have trouble describing this, so there are many
different terms. This is the thing that is inherent in life; this is
what is real. Go East or West and it is still there, be born into any
religion and it is still the same. Phenomena change but this never
changes; it is always still there, always constant. We say this
fundamental nature is empty, but it is also wondrous existence. This
is why we call it the dharmadhatu (the Realm of Reality), Tathagata
(Thus Come One), tathagatagarbha (Womb of the Tathagatas), True
Thusness and so on besides True Suchness, or Emptiness. When you reach
this point of self-realization, you are free from reckoning by form,
sensation, cognition, volition and consciousness and have thus cut off
all the skandhas at the root. This is why you can see the karma of all
beings in every direction, for you can understand the totality of
empty but interdependent origination. This stage of attainment is the
hardest to describe, for words fail when talking of self-realization.
Since it is beyond the five skandhas and has the capacity of wisdom
awareness or direct knowing, we just refer to it as true mind. When
through using your mind you can bring an entire galaxy to the palm of
your hand for all to see, as seen in the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra, we
are beginning to talk a little of the abilities of true mind. However,
to exercise such functioning also requires great merit. As a lama once
remarked to the Tibetan Master Gampopa, ìA Bodhisattva can demonstrate
miraculous powers by placing multiple galaxies into the smallest
particle of dust. The dust particle does not grow bigger, and the
galaxies do not grow smaller, yet the one can fit into the other. How
amazing!î Gampopa replied, ìThis is simply the nature of phenomena,
wherein almost anything can be achieved. The eyes of human beings can
see the whole of a face; a four inch mirror can capture horses and
elephants; a small bowl of water can reflect the entire moon.î
Gampopa, after saying this, then transformed himself into a figure as
large as a mountain, yet he still fit into a room that could only hold
several people. The room did not grow larger, and neither did
Gampopaís body grow smaller. This was an exhibition of the functioning
of the capabilities of true mind, and since this demonstrative ability
lies outside the realm of the five skandhas, we can truly call this
ability ìgreat merit.î If people want to evaluate such matters in more
detail, they must cultivate to reach some stage of attainment in order
to gain the appropriate understanding. They would also make headway if
they studied the prajna teachings of the Madhyamika, the Mind-only
teachings of Yogacara, and if they became familiar with the Surangama
Sutra, the Lankavatara Sutra, the Prajnaparamitra Sutras, the Flower
Adornment Sutra, the Sutra of Queen Srimala, and the Buddha Maitreyaís
various wisdom sastras which were transmitted by Asanga. Why are
prajna transcendental wisdom teachings so important on this particular
journey? Because prajna is that which enables you to understand the
Tao, and properly cultivate the spiritual path. Prajna transcendental
wisdom is not ordinary human intelligence, because intelligence is
conceptual in nature and limited to your previous knowledge,
experience, feelings and images. The true dharmakaya, on the other
hand, is inconceivable; only prajna transcendental wisdom can lead you
to its very borders. Prajna wisdom is beyond common intelligence and
wisdom because it can lead you to comprehend the essence and origin of
lifeóour original, fundamental nature. Naturally intellectual study or
conception or cognition cannot possibly achieve this end result
because wisdom is only realized through the nonconceptual state, which
is not, by the way, like a blank state of stupor or oblivion. The
nonconceptual state can be likened to the surface of a calm, still
lake wherein the stars and trees and sky are perfectly reflectedóin
clarity and distinctnessó because the lake has no concept of itself to
interfere with the reflection. It has no flaws or imperfections, and
it does not function with any degree of attachment. Therefore the
reflections appear naturally as they really are, without any bias or
distortion. Prajna is the awareness direct knowing nature that sees
things as they really are. You only achieve the great prajna wisdom
through completely engaging in the proper process of spiritual
cultivation. Because of this effort of spiritual cultivation, at the
moment of enlightenment, your own treasury of wisdom opens up. We say
it ìexplodes forth,î but all such words fail because this is something
inexpressible that cannot be explained. For instance, it does not come
forth through mental effort. Rather, it comes naturallyóit just
ìflowsîóyet you have to cultivate to reach this experience of
awakening. It is so important that it is the only thing worthwhile in
the universe. Your purpose in cultivating is to know it and experience
it, and you tread the path of spiritual cultivation to get there.


user145: In no way alaya-vijnana is "eternal, unchanging". This is Buddhism after all and nobody will posit totally non-buddhistic concepts which could contradict basic teachings of Buddha. Unenlightened beings may mistakenly perceive alaya-vijnana as Soul, but they may perceive so about any skandha. (One interpretation of why skandhas are five is that it's five assumptions of Self.) Standard analogy for alaya-vijnana is violent current of a river (udakaugha), it may be perceived as solid (from a far) but it's highly changing (if looked closer). Alaya-vijnana is only remains to the end of sansara.

289: <p>And in particular, is it eternal, unchanging and like any other formulation for a soul that we might have seen, in say Christianity or Hinduism?</p>

<p>This particular idea, that ālaya-vijñāna is like a permanent self, is mentioned in "Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist", by Stephen Bachelor.</p>
 37: <p>Currently I'm trying to read the "Stilling the Mind" by Alan Wallace. Although he tries to be detailed and didactic, it's very dense. In this book he translates and explains Dudjom Lingpa's Vajra Essence, from Dzogchen school.</p>

<p>If I understood correctly, he uses the expression <strong>substrate consciousness</strong> for <em>alayavijnana</em>, and he says that in Theravada it's called <em>bhavanga</em>. The five senses and the mind manifest in it. Dreams and after-death bardo also happens on <em>alayavijnana</em>, acording to Alan Wallace.</p>

<p>It isn't like a soul, but it is a <em>continuum of consciousness</em>. It gives the sense of continuity of time, and even after sleeping it allows us to feel this continuity.</p>

<p>And it isn't a self, which is disclaimed by <em>vipassana</em>. But it could be said that it is a self <strong>devoid of</strong> color, sound, smell, taste, shape or concepts. So it's not a common self.</p>

<p>I don't know if <em>alayavijnana</em> is permanent, but it lasts more than the phenomena of the five senses, the mind and the dreams. It seems that <em>alayavijnana</em> is the consciousness that enable the manifestation of phenomena, or that perceives them manifesting.</p>
 2265: <p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Y4nZK.jpg" alt="excerpt from How to Measure" /></p>
<p>The Buddha himself said that he didn't want to talk about the alaya because people would confuse it for a permanent self.
<strong>So the answer to your 2nd question is a clear and emphatic NO.</strong></p>
<p>Let's honor his advice and not philosophize about it too much either because understanding and transforming the alaya (and the rest of the consciousness skandha) is the work of a bodhisattva who has mastered the jhanas and already attained Arhatship, something we are not at.</p>
<p>On the other hand... (from Wikipedia):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A similar perspective is give by Walpola Rahula. According to Walpola
Rahula, all the elements of the Yogācāra storehouse-consciousness are
already found in the Pāli Canon.[36] He writes that the three layers
of the mind (citta, manas, and vijñana) as presented by Asaṅga are
also mentioned in the Pāli Canon:</p>
<p>Thus we can see that 'Vijñāna' represents the simple reaction or
response of the sense organs when they come in contact with external
objects. This is the uppermost or superficial aspect or layer of the
'Vijñāna-skandha'. 'Manas' represents the aspect of its mental
functioning, thinking, reasoning, conceiving ideas, etc. 'Citta' which
is here called 'Ālayavijñāna', represents the deepest, finest and
subtlest aspect or layer of the Aggregate of consciousness. It
contains all the traces or impressions of the past actions and all
good and bad future possibilities.[37]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Anyway, go to page 217 of How to Measure and Deepen Your Spiritual Realization for the clearest account on Alaya that currently exists--at least one that I trust--since we are in the territory of Mind-Only after all... The book is a little expensive but worth it.</p>
<p>Below is a dump of that sub-chapter.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>THE EIGHTH (ALAYA) CONSCIOUSNESS The seventh consciousness deposits
its impressions on the eighth consciousness, or alaya, which, as we
have seen, functions as the storehouse of all the residual impressions
left by the functioning of the prior seven consciousnesses. The alaya
does no real judging on its own. Instead, it serves as the neutral
storehouse of all the ìseedsî or germs of everything within the Three
Realms, including all our ideas and the impressions we experience.
This is why it is often called the ìstorehouse of our seeds of
experience.î It is also sometimes called the ìreceptacle
consciousnessî due to the fact that these seeds lie within it. Since
the intermingling of the seeds produces our karma, which is the
retribution of actions we commit in either this life or from previous
lives, it is also at times called the ìretribution consciousness.î All
the consciousnesses have various names, and these are just a few that
we have for the alaya. Asanga said, ìthe objective world and the
subjective ego are only manifestations of the universal consciousness
[alaya],î which helps us further understand its great functioning.
Since the fruits or phenomena which evolve from it mature at varying
times and in varying categories, it is also called the ìvarying
maturing consciousness.î The universal ground of the alaya is a
neutral state, like a mirror which simply reflects things but whose
images are neither good nor bad in themselves. The alaya consciousness
is omnipresent, but if it were not for the functioning of the other
seven consciousnesses, it would not create good and bad karma or
interact with phenomena. Therefore it is described as ìnonrevolving
and indefinite.î In the novel The Journey to the West, the fact that
the monk Xuan Zang always seemed so useless was because he represented
this ìnonrevolvingî eighth consciousness which is ineffective by
itself. In the story, the monk always had to rely on the efforts of
the monkey Sun Wu-kung to get anything done because the monkey
represented the actionable working mind or sixth consciousness. In
describing how consciousness works, it is easiest to say that the
seeds within the alaya ìsurfaceî and are engendered: when conditions
are proper, seeds that are normally covered sprout so as to give rise
to the corresponding experiences. Thus, it is the alaya consciousness
that ultimately gives birth to the manifestation of phenomenal states,
and this happens when the proper conditions come together so that
relevant experiences and circumstances can manifest. In other words,
the seeds within the alaya are always being ìperfumedî
(cross-pollinated, or cross-fertilized) by the first seven
consciousnesses. Furthermore, the seeds within it are always being
influenced by each other because of mutual interaction. This is the
process of ceaseless, subtle transformation that defines the alayaís
workings, and the subtle nature of this transformation is the reason
that no super-computer could ever perfectly predict the karma
determined by the alaya. Nevertheless, through this process of
turning, perfuming or transforming, our karma is always being
determined, and sometimes this karma can be foreknown. As a side note,
this is also the key for how you can change or defer unfortunate karma
that is due. Simply prevent the necessary contributing circumstances
from transpiring, and then the environment that would produce bad
fortune will not occur. Rather, it will have to wait for another time
to manifest when all the proper conditions come together. When you
become enlightened, you will even learn how to change your karma
rather than defer it. You will also become able to understand the
eventual karmic results of all deeds, as well as see the prior acts
responsible for someoneís current karmic conditions. While the various
seeds within the alaya are engendered to affect the various
consciousnesses and bring about experiential realms, we must remember
that the consciousnesses simultaneously perfume the seeds, so they
become in their turn causes which perfume and mature seeds, and which
thereby in turn produce further seeds of experience. The seeds, the
consciousnesses that perfume them, and the seeds subsequently
engendered by this perfuming revolve in a cycle, simultaneously and
reciprocally acting as cause and effect. This is the perfuming of
subtle transformation, a process of interconnected seeds rushing
onwards as a torrential whole whose miraculous movements can never be
stopped. Mind will always be, and the material world will always be,
and there is no possible stopping of either. This is why you must
learn detachment, and how to skillfully master these processes. This
is a very deep and complicated topic. It is so profound that it is
very easy to take it the wrong way. The Dharma master Xuan Zang tried
to summarize these principles by saying, a seed produces a
manifestation, and a manifestation perfumes a seed (simultaneously
acts as a cause and effect). The seeds, the manifestation and
perfuming turn on and on, functioning at one and the same time as
cause and effect. ... Consciousness, from beginningless time, is born
and perishes again from moment to moment, ever successively changing.
As cause it perishes and as fruit it is born again. Through the
evolution of the other consciousnesses the alaya is perfumed and forms
seeds (of future experience). Its sequence of cause and effect is like
a rushing torrent which flows ever onward in sequence, carrying with
it [seeds which] sometimes float and sometimes sink [assume greater or
lesser roles of activity and passivity]. Thus, there is the successive
sequence from beginninglessness of being born and perishing, so that
there is neither permanence nor impermanence. When you finally become
a Buddha through your cultivation efforts, all the seeds of your alaya
consciousness will have been transformed to become pure virtue. Your
stream of mind events and behavior will have all assumed a virtuous
character that is unimaginable. When you reach the realm of the alaya
consciousness through spiritual cultivation and transform it into a
purified, cleansed consciousness, then you can completely ìilluminate
mind and see the true nature.î This is when you can transform it back
into its original inherent identity as the matrix womb of the Buddhas.
This is sort of like flipping any yin aspect of the alaya into a yang
aspect entirely. When you do this we can call the alaya consciousness
the ìenlightenment Tathagata Storehouse,î but before this achievement
it is simply called the alaya or eighth consciousness. Before becoming
a fully enlightened Buddha, the three kinds of seeds that are
necessary for attaining self-realization remain inactive. They are
there, but you never activate them because you do not cultivate the
conditions that lead to their germination. In other words, you do not
put in the required efforts of spiritual cultivation, so the
fruitional results of these seeds do not manifest, but remain covered.
All beings naturally possess these three seeds, but they are not
engendered until they are activated through spiritual striving. These
three seeds include: (1) the seeds for reaching the Hearer state of
attainment (sravaka), which is achieved through listening to the
dharma (2) the seeds for reaching the pratyeka-buddha stage, which
allow you to attain enlightenment without being taught (3) the seeds
for reaching the Bodhisattva enlightenment, which allow you to enter
the Mahayana path The alaya contains the seeds of all experiences,
including the seeds of being attached to the physical body and
sensations that are afflictive barriers to spiritual attainment. Thus,
because of the seeds in the alaya, we all carry around the habit
energy of five sources of error that are major barriers to cultivation
progress, called the five fundamental dwellings: the love of views,
love of desire, love of form, love of the formless, and love of
ignorance. These dwellings of mind always cause affliction and
suffering. Only when you reach the stage of a Buddha can you be free
of these views and experience the immediate presence, or crystal
clarity of nirvana. At this point of spiritual attainment you will
have transformed all the consciousnesses into wisdom functionings. The
alaya acts as a storehouse of the seeds of impressions, but when it is
finally transformed into an enlightened Buddha mind, all things are
manifestly reflected and can be seen as they really are; there is no
intercession of thoughts or idealized images in the way. Thus, when
someone empties the volition skandha and starts cultivating the pure
aggregate of consciousness, they are at the very edge of enlightenment
but not yet awakened to the great matter. At this point, a spiritual
aspirant will be clear and illuminated both inside and out, and we say
they will be able to ìenter without entering.î In other words, the six
sense faculties will be empty and still, and they will no longer run
off in disarray. This does not mean that the sense consciousnesses
will not work anymore, rather it just means they will be clear no
matter what they confront, and so they will function without any
obstructions. At this point you will be able to perceive things
whether the sense organs are operating or not, so you will no longer
be subject to the limitations of the six sense faculties. In fact, at
this stage of attainment you can use the eye to hear or nose to see
since you have reached the root source of the six sense
consciousnesses where they are still undifferentiated. The realm
without entry is the impetus behind the famous spiritual cultivation
method of Avalokiteshvara, which involves listening to sound to trace
hearing back to its source. In this method, which was highly
recommended for our world by the Buddha Manjusri, you return the
function of the hearing-consciousness to the consciousness skandha,
and then fathom the stillness or emptiness within to realize the
self-nature and attain Tao. As Avalokiteshvara reported: I initially
entered the stream of meditation through the sense of hearing, and
thereby forgot the sound of what was heard. As a result, both sounds
(disturbances) and silence (stillness) ceased to arise. Gradually
advancing in this way, both hearing and what was heard both melted
away and vanished, but I did not stop where they ended. When hearing
and what was heard were both forgotten (became empty), there was
nothing to rely upon because hearing left no impression in the mind.
When a sense (like hearing) and the objects of sense both become empty
(in this way), then emptiness and sense merge and reach a state of
absolute perfection. When emptiness and what is being emptied are both
extinguished (emptied or forgotten), then arising and extinction
vanished. At this point the absolute emptiness of nirvana became
manifest, and suddenly I transcended the mundane and supramundane
worlds.4 Thus, it is said, ìEntering the stream, you forget about
where you are, and the entry is already still.î It is also said,
ìReturning the hearing, listen to your nature till the nature reaches
the supreme way.î At this time you will be able to comprehend the
source of all the beings throughout the entire universe, which means
you will be able to ìobserve the origin.î Although people do not
normally recognize it as such, the ability to perceive the fundamental
nature face-to-face is actually the goal of modern science. But
science goes about it in a way that will never succeed. Hopefully the
time will come when scientists recognize that you do not have to
perform investigations with external machines and instruments and
mathematics to ìobserve the origin,î but you can investigate reality
using spiritual prajna and samadhi. When you arrive at the skandha of
consciousness because you have liberated yourself from false thoughts,
you are almost free of the world of defilements, though you have not
finished with it completely. Only when you finally free yourself from
the aggregate of consciousness can you reach complete
self-realization. In other words, enlightenment can be partial or
complete, and partial enlightenment has its own various stages (or
bhumis). Upon enlightenment a practitionerís mind and body, together
with the entire universe, become fused into one, and this whole seems
illumined all the way through like a crystal clear sphere suffused
with light and absent of any obstructions. This is pure, true wondrous
illumination, the perfect purity of fundamental enlightenment. When
the Bible says God is light, it is referring to this state of empty,
infinite, omniscient clarity presence rather than physical light. It
is actually a state of perfect clarity, but the Tibetans sometimes
call this ìluminosityî or ìilluminationî for lack of better terms.
They also call it the ìclear light,î which refers to the primordial
knowing wisdom awareness that is unborn and unconstructed. All the
spiritual schools have trouble describing this, so there are many
different terms. This is the thing that is inherent in life; this is
what is real. Go East or West and it is still there, be born into any
religion and it is still the same. Phenomena change but this never
changes; it is always still there, always constant. We say this
fundamental nature is empty, but it is also wondrous existence. This
is why we call it the dharmadhatu (the Realm of Reality), Tathagata
(Thus Come One), tathagatagarbha (Womb of the Tathagatas), True
Thusness and so on besides True Suchness, or Emptiness. When you reach
this point of self-realization, you are free from reckoning by form,
sensation, cognition, volition and consciousness and have thus cut off
all the skandhas at the root. This is why you can see the karma of all
beings in every direction, for you can understand the totality of
empty but interdependent origination. This stage of attainment is the
hardest to describe, for words fail when talking of self-realization.
Since it is beyond the five skandhas and has the capacity of wisdom
awareness or direct knowing, we just refer to it as true mind. When
through using your mind you can bring an entire galaxy to the palm of
your hand for all to see, as seen in the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra, we
are beginning to talk a little of the abilities of true mind. However,
to exercise such functioning also requires great merit. As a lama once
remarked to the Tibetan Master Gampopa, ìA Bodhisattva can demonstrate
miraculous powers by placing multiple galaxies into the smallest
particle of dust. The dust particle does not grow bigger, and the
galaxies do not grow smaller, yet the one can fit into the other. How
amazing!î Gampopa replied, ìThis is simply the nature of phenomena,
wherein almost anything can be achieved. The eyes of human beings can
see the whole of a face; a four inch mirror can capture horses and
elephants; a small bowl of water can reflect the entire moon.î
Gampopa, after saying this, then transformed himself into a figure as
large as a mountain, yet he still fit into a room that could only hold
several people. The room did not grow larger, and neither did
Gampopaís body grow smaller. This was an exhibition of the functioning
of the capabilities of true mind, and since this demonstrative ability
lies outside the realm of the five skandhas, we can truly call this
ability ìgreat merit.î If people want to evaluate such matters in more
detail, they must cultivate to reach some stage of attainment in order
to gain the appropriate understanding. They would also make headway if
they studied the prajna teachings of the Madhyamika, the Mind-only
teachings of Yogacara, and if they became familiar with the Surangama
Sutra, the Lankavatara Sutra, the Prajnaparamitra Sutras, the Flower
Adornment Sutra, the Sutra of Queen Srimala, and the Buddha Maitreyaís
various wisdom sastras which were transmitted by Asanga. Why are
prajna transcendental wisdom teachings so important on this particular
journey? Because prajna is that which enables you to understand the
Tao, and properly cultivate the spiritual path. Prajna transcendental
wisdom is not ordinary human intelligence, because intelligence is
conceptual in nature and limited to your previous knowledge,
experience, feelings and images. The true dharmakaya, on the other
hand, is inconceivable; only prajna transcendental wisdom can lead you
to its very borders. Prajna wisdom is beyond common intelligence and
wisdom because it can lead you to comprehend the essence and origin of
lifeóour original, fundamental nature. Naturally intellectual study or
conception or cognition cannot possibly achieve this end result
because wisdom is only realized through the nonconceptual state, which
is not, by the way, like a blank state of stupor or oblivion. The
nonconceptual state can be likened to the surface of a calm, still
lake wherein the stars and trees and sky are perfectly reflectedóin
clarity and distinctnessó because the lake has no concept of itself to
interfere with the reflection. It has no flaws or imperfections, and
it does not function with any degree of attachment. Therefore the
reflections appear naturally as they really are, without any bias or
distortion. Prajna is the awareness direct knowing nature that sees
things as they really are. You only achieve the great prajna wisdom
through completely engaging in the proper process of spiritual
cultivation. Because of this effort of spiritual cultivation, at the
moment of enlightenment, your own treasury of wisdom opens up. We say
it ìexplodes forth,î but all such words fail because this is something
inexpressible that cannot be explained. For instance, it does not come
forth through mental effort. Rather, it comes naturallyóit just
ìflowsîóyet you have to cultivate to reach this experience of
awakening. It is so important that it is the only thing worthwhile in
the universe. Your purpose in cultivating is to know it and experience
it, and you tread the path of spiritual cultivation to get there.</p>
</blockquote>
 145: <p>In no way <em>alaya-vijnana</em> is "<em>eternal, unchanging</em>". This is Buddhism after all and nobody will posit totally non-buddhistic concepts which could contradict basic teachings of Buddha. Unenlightened beings may <em>mistakenly</em> perceive <em>alaya-vijnana</em> as Soul, but they may perceive so about any <em>skandha</em>. (One interpretation of why skandhas are five is that it's five assumptions of Self.) Standard analogy for <em>alaya-vijnana</em> is violent current of a river (<em>udakaugha</em>), it may be perceived as solid (from a far) but it's highly changing (if looked closer). <em>Alaya-vijnana</em> is only remains to the end of <em>sansara</em>.</p>
