Is There Innate Ātma-Grāha in Consciousness?

Does the sixth consciousness possess innate atman-grasping? If the sixth consciousness, like the seventh consciousness, possesses the same cognition as the previous life at the very moment the five aggregates are born, it would naturally also possess the same grasping nature. If the sixth consciousness is innately endowed with innate atman-grasping, without requiring later teaching or conditioning, then it must first necessarily know that there is a set of five aggregates and recognize it as "self," and must know that there is a set of eighteen dhatus and recognize it as "self." Does the sixth consciousness, at the moment of birth, know about the five aggregates without being taught? Is the sixth consciousness innately aware of the eighteen dhatus without teaching or learning? Does it recognize the functions and roles of the five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness? Does it recognize the functions and roles of the eighteen dhatus—the six sense bases, six sense objects, and six sense consciousnesses? Can it distinguish between self and others? Does it possess the concepts of self and others? Does it have the notions of self, person, sentient being, and life? If the sixth consciousness possesses cognition of all dharmas of the five aggregates and eighteen dhatus, then it has atman-grasping; if it lacks cognition of these dharmas, then the sixth consciousness has no atman-grasping. It lacks the mental activity of grasping; even if it wanted to grasp, it would lack the capacity to do so.

The content of dharma-grasping is far broader than that of atman-grasping, and its meaning is deeper, subtler, and more difficult to comprehend. The consciousness, newly born and knowing no dharmas whatsoever, is incapable of grasping. For example, for consciousness to grasp wealth, sensual pleasures, fame, food, or sleep, it must first recognize what wealth, sensual pleasures, fame, food, and sleep are, as well as their importance, before it can generate grasping and possess the capacity to grasp. If consciousness does not know what wealth, sensual pleasures, fame, food, or sleep are, then there is no mental activity of grasping, and there is no question of whether it grasps or not. For instance, for consciousness to grasp power and status, or to grasp a life of affluence, it must first understand what power and status are, how important they are, what their significance is, and understand the enjoyment of life; only then can it grasp these dharmas and generate mental activities of craving and attachment. If it is utterly ignorant of these dharmas, then it cannot and lacks the capacity to grasp, and there is no question of grasping or not grasping. Therefore, it is said that the newly born consciousness has no dharma-grasping and does not understand grasping. The consciousness possesses no innate, inborn grasping whatsoever, including both atman-grasping and dharma-grasping.