The Types of the Unconditioned (Asaṃskṛta)

The ākāśa-asaṃskṛta (space unconditioned) among the one hundred dharmas of the Gate of Illumination on the Hundred Dharmas refers to the fact that the substance of the eighth consciousness, like empty space, is suchness immovable—this is its unconditioned nature. The eighth consciousness is forever suchness immovable; no matter what states it encounters, it never stirs a thought, and its mind-nature is unconditioned. The tathatā-asaṃskṛta (suchness unconditioned) refers precisely to the unconditioned nature of the eighth consciousness, and the apratiṣaṃkhyā-nirodha-asaṃskṛta (unconditioned through non-cessation without deliberation) also refers to the unconditioned nature of the eighth consciousness.

The āniñjya-asaṃskṛta (unmoving unconditioned) refers to when the seven consciousnesses are cultivated to the fourth dhyāna of meditative concentration (samādhi), where 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, this is called the unmoving unconditioned. The pratisaṃkhyā-nirodha-asaṃskṛta (unconditioned through cessation with deliberation) and the saṃjñā-veditā-nirodha-asaṃskṛta (unconditioned through cessation of perception and feeling) both refer to the unconditioned nature of the seven consciousnesses. When the manas is in the cessation of perception and feeling (nirodha-samāpatti), perception and feeling are absent, with only mental engagement (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), and volition (cetanā) remaining—most of its mental activity has become unconditioned.

Among the six unconditioned dharmas, the unconditioned nature of the eighth consciousness is discussed, as well as the unconditioned nature of the seven consciousnesses; both the true and the deluded are included therein. In actuality, the eighth consciousness is inherently unconditioned; its mind-nature is unconditioned, yet this does not hinder its conditioned nature of serving sentient beings and the five aggregates. Within the conditioned, its mind-nature is absolutely unconditioned. Is there any dharma that surpasses the unconditioned mind-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 inherently an unconditioned dharma, whereas the seven consciousnesses must be cultivated to a considerable degree before they can gradually become unconditioned, and this acquired unconditioned nature is subject to arising and ceasing. The six unconditioned dharmas in the Gate of Illumination on the Hundred Dharmas also include the unconditioned nature cultivated by the seven consciousnesses, so unconditioned dharmas are likewise divided into the true and the deluded.