The Perceiving-Aspect of Ālayavijñāna

The perceiving-aspect of the ālayavijñāna is the seeing of the ālayavijñāna itself. The ālayavijñāna sees all dharmas through the operation of the five universal mental factors—manaskāra (attention), sparśa (contact), vedanā (feeling), saṃjñā (perception), and cetanā (volition)—and then grasps and manifests the dharmas. Only at this point can the manas, the mind-root, perceive the dharmas; before this, they can be seen by the ālayavijñāna alone. However, the manas cannot perceive the perceiving-aspect function of the ālayavijñāna. Only after attaining buddhahood, or as a bodhisattva of several bhūmis, can one perceive the operation of the mental factors in the perceiving-aspect function of the tathāgatagarbha. The manas of ordinary worldlings and pre-bhūmi bodhisattvas (pūrvabhūmika bodhisattva) lacks such great wisdom and power of meditative concentration (samādhi); even bodhisattvas of several bhūmis may not necessarily perceive it clearly and completely.