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The Propositions of Plum Village Teachings 34-36
Store consciousness (Alaya Vijnana), also called store or background consciousness, and in Sarvāstivāda known as mula vijnana, is the foundation where habits and experiences are accumulated throughout our lifetime—beginning from when we are still in our mother’s womb. Through the function of habit energy (huân tập), store consciousness not only records information brought by the five sense organs but also transforms experiences into deep-seated habits. For example, when practicing to brush your teeth with your left hand, although it is awkward at first, through patient observation and restraining the right hand, store consciousness gradually trains the left hand to become skillful.
The method of learning at Plum Village is entirely based on the principle of habit energy:
- There is no coercion, only listening to chanting and allowing the teachings to naturally penetrate the mind.
- Choosing a practice environment in the monastery, avoiding negative habit energies from outside schools.
- Mindfulness, concentration, and insight are used to illuminate and intervene, transmitting insight down to store consciousness, ripening the seeds of wisdom.
Thanks to this, the practitioner no longer lives according to the automatic programming of store consciousness but actively nourishes wholesome energies, transforms suffering and attachment, so that the insight of impermanence, non-self, and interbeing can sprout and bear fruit.
Coming Home to Bathe in the Original River