amalavijñāna

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Glossaryamalavijñāna

Sanskrit Noun

amalavijñāna

immaculate consciousness
啊摩羅識,無垢識

Basic Meaning

The ninth consciousness, the immaculate pure mind.

Simplified English Usage

At the moment of enlightenment, the eighth consciousness ceases, replaced by the ninth, the immaculate consciousness of a buddha.

On this topic
Term Variations
Key Term amalavijñāna
Topic Variation immaculate consciousness
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration dri ma med pa'i rnam shes
Romanized Sanskrit *amalavijñāna
Chinese 啊摩羅識, 無垢識
Chinese Pinyin amoluo shi, wugou shi
Japanese Transliteration amarashiki, mukushiki
Buddha-nature Site Standard English immaculate consciousness
Term Information
Source Language Sanskrit
Basic Meaning The ninth consciousness, the immaculate pure mind.
Term Type Noun
Definitions
Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism See page 33: In Sanskrit, “immaculate consciousness”; a ninth level of consciousness posited in certain strands of the Yogācāra school, especially that taught by the Indian translator and exegete Paramārtha . The amalavijñāna represents the intrusion of tathāgatagarbha (womb or embryo of buddhahood) thought into the eight-consciousnesses theory of the Yogācāra school. The amalavijñāna may have antecedents in the notion of immaculate gnosis (amalajñāna) in the Ratnagotravibhāga and is claimed to be first mentioned in Sthiramati’s school of Yogācāra, to which Paramārtha belonged. The term is not attested in Sanskrit materials, however, and may be of Chinese provenance.