The Six Consciousnesses During Sleep

During the samādhi of non-perception (asaṃjñi-samāpatti) and deep sleep, the six consciousnesses do not exist. If the thoughts of the six consciousnesses arise again, it is necessary for the manas to generate mental engagement (manaskāra) and the volitional mental factor (cetanā) toward the objects of the six sense objects; when there is the wish to discern the six sense objects, the eighth consciousness then gives rise to the six consciousnesses to discern the six sense objects, and thus one emerges from samādhi or wakes up.