The eighth consciousness, also known as the alaya consciousness or storehouse consciousness, is a particularly complicated, difficult subject to discuss. Shakyamuni Buddha taught for several decades and had many highly advanced practitioners as his disciples, yet despite disciples of high prajna wisdom and high samadhi attainments, Shakyamuni rarely spoke of the alaya consciousness in order to prevent any entries into error. That’s how important this topic is, and how difficult it is to discuss. As Shakyamuni said,

The storehouse consciousness [alaya] is very profound and subtle;
All its seeds are like a torrential flow.
I do not explain it to the ignorant,
For fear they will cling to it and consider it a self.

Shakyamuni threfore gave very few teachings on the alaya consciousness in order not to provide people with another false source of fixation of something as the ultimate. He didn’t want to talk extensively about something that sentient beings, lacking wisdom, might take as a higher Self or final Reality. In particular, he worried that beings might take the alaya as a big Self, or true atman. In fact, the Hindu sages who were able to reach to the alaya body of consciousness before him all made this very mistake, taking the alaya as the Great Self (Brahman) when it is only the essence of consciousness. They would reach this stage of cultivation and claim, “I am He, I am He” or “I am Brahman, I am Shiva.” Similarly, “All this is Brahman,” “I know the Supreme Brahman; there is nothing higher than that (Prasna Upanishad VI.7),” “All this Universe is Brahman. The Self is Brahman. (Mandukya Upanishad, Verse 2).”

Contrast this with Buddha’s discourse in the Diamond Sutra where he says that there is no such real thing as a world system or agglomeration of world systems, for if such a thing existed in reality it would be the oneness of all phenomena. Neither any components nor the whole should be regarded as real. No stage of attainment should be regarded as real either. If one even considers themselves an ego, identity, being or real self, they are not correct either. No stage of attainment is really existing or ever really attained.

Many in history have reached the stage where they were able to claim “I and the Father are one,” but this was also only reaching the alaya — if that far — without fully transforming it or overturning its basis. And many of those sages were killed by people who did not understand what they were saying. To overturn the alaya and produce a revolution in its basis, turning all its seeds into wisdoms – that’s the stage of true enlightenment taught by Shakyamuni Buddha. Many masters since then have been able to reach to the alaya by cultivating the seventh consciousness to the stage where they silenced the sixth and first five consciousnesses by turning away from the senses and phenomena. Many yoga concentration techniques will help you do this. But many of these also made the mistake of holding on to the alaya as the object of the seventh consciousness and clinging to it as a Self. In Zen a master would have to break up someone’s stage of realization in order to get them to perceive this (awaken) and go beyond. Afterwards, as long as they had attained the right view and understanding, a master would not worry about what particular cultivation practices a student would thereafter choose to follow.

This is so important to understand these various fine distinctions that we should review this in more detail. If you do not understand this, you cannot understand the real meaning of enlightenment and how it puts an end to transmigration (as well as sorrow, misery, etc.) or why it involves cultivating prajna transcendental wisdom. Those things are just words until you understand the whole picture and grand scheme of things.

To read the rest of the article,  click here: The Highest States in Buddhism vs. Hinduism, the Alaya Consciousness vs. Brahman