eight consciousnesses
This is a conceptual structuring of the elements of consciousness which illustrates the iceberg-like nature of consciousness and reality.
- visual consciousness
- auditory consciousness
- olfactory consciousness
- taste consciousness
- tactile conscoiusness
- mental consciousness
- emotional/self consciousness
- storehouse/basal consciousness
The storehouse consciousness (alaya-vijnana) is considered a more basic layer of consciousness/reality giving rise to the other seven. It is a repository for energy and karmic processes which give rise to the excitations, cycles, and fluctuations in the other aspects which we identify with phenomenal reality.