Does the Seventh Consciousness Fall Asleep?

Question: When we are asleep, does the seventh consciousness sleep? Can the seventh consciousness hear a sutra-reciting device by the bed that is playing at a very low volume? Will it store the information into the eighth consciousness?

Answer: The seventh consciousness never falls asleep and never sleeps. If the seventh consciousness were to sleep, only the eighth consciousness would remain, and one would then have entered nirvāṇa without remainder and become an arhat. The seventh consciousness does not sleep or cease to exist, unless an arhat or pratyekabuddha enters nirvāṇa without remainder. After one falls asleep with a sutra-reciting device playing, the seventh consciousness can still discern; the only question is whether He can understand what is heard. However, if the playing lasts a long time, one can still be influenced through perfuming. As long as the seventh consciousness discerns a sound, He will store it into the eighth consciousness; whether He understands or does not understand, the seeds stored are different.