All manifestations bear the marks
Of both the individual and the collective.
The maturation of store consciousness functions in the same way
In its participation in the different stages and realms of being.
Manifestations from store consciousness
Can be perceived directly in the mode of things-in-themselves,
As representations, or as mere images.
All are included in the eighteen elements of being.
The function of store consciousnessfrom Transformation at the Base by Thich Nhat Hanh, p. 10
is to receive and maintain
Seeds and their habit energies,
So they can manifest in the world, or remain dormant.
The quality of our lifeThich Nhat Hanh, Transformation at the Base, p. 10
Depends on the quality
Of the seeds
That lie deep in our consciousness.
Just this...--Zen poetry spraypainted to a rail trestle in Minneapolis
...from birth to death
Birth and death,
You have been crushing me.
Now you can no longer touch me.
Virtuous man, what is the sign of life? It is the mind of sentient beings that illuminates purity, in which they are aware of what they have realized. Karmic [consciousness] and wisdom cannot perceive themselves. This is comparable to the root of life. Virtuous man, when the mind is able to illuminate and perceive enlightenment, it is but a defilement, because both perceiver and perceived are not apart from defilement. After ice melts in hot water, there is no ice to be aware of its melting. The perception of the existence of the self enlightening itself is also like this.
