Types of the Unconditioned

The ākāśa-asaṃskṛta (space unconditioned) among the hundred dharmas of the gate of the hundred dharmas refers to the fact that the substance of the eighth consciousness is as immovable as empty space—suchness is immovable (tathatā-acalita)—and this is its unconditioned nature. The eighth consciousness is forever in suchness and immovable; no matter what states it encounters, it never stirs a thought, and its mental nature is unconditioned. True suchness unconditioned (tathatā-asaṃskṛta) refers to the unconditioned nature of the eighth consciousness, and non-cessation through discrimination unconditioned (apratiṣaṃkhyā-nirodha-asaṃskṛta) also refers to the unconditionedness of the eighth consciousness.

The immovable unconditioned (āniñjya-asaṃskṛta) refers to when the seven consciousnesses cultivate to the stage of the fourth dhyāna, the mind does not stir thoughts, and thus becomes unconditioned; the body has no breath, pulse, or heartbeat, and is also unconditioned and unmoving—when both body and mind are unconditioned, it is called the immovable unconditioned. The cessation through discrimination unconditioned (pratiṣaṃkhyā-nirodha-asaṃskṛta) and the cessation of perception and feeling unconditioned (saṃjñā-veditā-nirodha-asaṃskṛta) both refer to the unconditionedness of the seven consciousnesses. When the manas is in the cessation attainment (nirodha-samāpatti), it has no perception or feeling, only attention (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), and volition (cetanā), and most of its mental activity has become unconditioned.

Among the six unconditioned dharmas, the unconditionedness of the eighth consciousness is discussed, as well as the unconditionedness of the seven consciousnesses; both the true and the false are included therein. In actuality, the eighth consciousness is unconditioned by its very nature—its mental nature is unconditioned, yet this does not hinder its conditioned nature of serving sentient beings and the five aggregates; amid the conditioned, its mental nature is decidedly unconditioned. Is there any dharma that surpasses the unconditioned mental nature of the eighth consciousness? No, there is not. The seven consciousnesses can never be more unconditioned than the eighth consciousness, and the five aggregates can never be more unconditioned than the eighth consciousness—there is no dharma more unconditioned than the eighth consciousness. The eighth consciousness is by nature an unconditioned dharma, whereas the seven consciousnesses must cultivate to a considerable degree before they can gradually become unconditioned, and this acquired unconditionedness is subject to arising and ceasing. The six unconditioned dharmas in the gate of the hundred dharmas also include the unconditionedness cultivated by the seven consciousnesses, so even unconditioned dharmas can be divided into the true and the false.