眾生無邊誓願度
煩惱無盡誓願斷
法門無量誓願學
佛道無上誓願成

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Dharma Teachings

06 Jan 2020    Monday     1st Teach Total 2107

Why does the Ālayavijñāna not have seeds of ignorance?

In the Ālayavijñāna, there naturally and inherently exist the consciousness-seeds of the seventh consciousness (manas), yet there are no seeds of the fundamental ignorance of the seventh consciousness. Why is this said? Because all seeds are karmic seeds left behind by the bodily, verbal, and mental actions that have been performed; without karma there are no seeds—except for the seeds of the seven great elements. The seventh consciousness is perpetually present together with the Ālayavijñāna; at the very beginning there were no six consciousnesses and no body of the five aggregates, so no karmic actions could be performed, and thus no seeds could be deposited in the Ālayavijñāna. And after the six consciousnesses and the body of the five aggregates came into existence and performed bodily, verbal, and mental actions, this was precisely based on the ignorance of the seventh consciousness. If the seventh consciousness had no ignorance, it would not give rise to the six consciousnesses and the body of the five aggregates, and then there would be no karmic actions, nor a great trichiliocosm—everything would be in utter stillness. If the seventh consciousness truly had no ignorance, it would have already entered nirvāṇa—and moreover the nirvāṇa of the Buddha-stage. It is thus evident that the seventh consciousness is endowed completely with all fundamental ignorance, and therefore it raises up the world and the world of sentient beings, with transmigration continuing without end.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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