Is There Innate Ātma-Grāha in Consciousness?

Does the sixth consciousness possess innate clinging to a self? If the sixth consciousness, like the seventh consciousness, possesses the same cognition as in the previous life the moment the five aggregates are born, it would naturally also possess the same clinging nature as before. If the sixth consciousness inherently possesses innate clinging to a self, without requiring later teaching and conditioning, then it must first know that there is a set of five aggregates and recognize it as "me"; it must know that there is a set of eighteen elements and recognize it as "me." At the moment of birth, without being taught, does the sixth consciousness know that there are five aggregates? Without being taught or learning, does the sixth consciousness innately know that there are eighteen elements? Does it recognize the functions of the five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness? Does it recognize the functions of the eighteen elements—the six sense faculties, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses? Can it distinguish between self and others? Does it have the concepts of self and others? Does it possess the notions of self, person, sentient being, and life span? If the sixth consciousness possesses cognition of all phenomena of the five aggregates and eighteen elements, then it has clinging to a self; if it lacks cognition of these phenomena, then the sixth consciousness has no clinging to a self—it lacks the mental volition to cling, and even if it wished to cling, it would lack the capacity to do so.

The content of clinging to phenomena is broader than that of clinging to a self, and its meaning is deeper, subtler, and more difficult to comprehend. When consciousness first arises, it recognizes no phenomena whatsoever and thus cannot cling. For example, for consciousness to cling to wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep, it must first recognize what wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep are and their importance; only then can it generate clinging and possess the capacity to cling. If consciousness does not know what wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep are, then it lacks the mental volition to cling, and the question of clinging or not clinging does not arise. Similarly, for consciousness to cling to power and status, or to cling to a life of affluence, it must first understand what power and status are, how important they are, what their significance is, and how to enjoy life; only then can it cling to these phenomena and generate mental volition of craving. If it is completely ignorant of these phenomena, then it cannot and lacks the capacity to cling, and again, the question of clinging or not clinging does not arise. Therefore, it is said that the newly born consciousness has no clinging to phenomena and does not know how to cling. Consciousness possesses no innate, inherent clinging whatsoever, including clinging to a self and clinging to phenomena.