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Background Consciousness
Thay begins by recounting a dream in which he enrolls in a music class and comes face-to-face with his double.. Thay connects this dream to the ancient story of the Tripitaka Master Xuanzang’s quest for Buddhist scriptures, where Master Xuanzang and three students embark on a symbolic boat journey, encountering transformation and shedding their fears. Thay delves deeply into teachings on consciousness, including store consciousness (sarvabījaka) and the seven evolving consciousnesses, such as the sixth, mano-vijnana and the seventh, manas. Thay explores how the interconnected cycle of karma shapes our destiny through our actions, illustrating the different levels of consciousness: store consciousness, mentation, and mind consciousness. Returning to the subject of dreams, Thay highlights how the first five evolving consciousnesses can bypass mind consciousness and go directly to store consciousness.
This is the first talk in a series of fourteen given during The Feet of the Buddha, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2004. Thay offered this talk at the New Hamlet, Plum Village, France.