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.
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| 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. |
