Eight Consciousnesses retreat 2027

The eight consciousnesses

How does our experience of the world arise? And why do you keep falling into the same patterns? The teaching of the eight consciousnesses provides answers to these questions. This classification comes from the Yogācāra school of Mahayana Buddhism and plays an important role in Tibetan Buddhism. The first five are the sensory consciousnesses: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. The sixth, the mental consciousness, gives meaning to what the senses perceive. The seventh is the afflicted mental consciousness. It clings to a sense of ‘I’ and colours everything you experience.

In-depth exploration and insight

The eighth is the ground consciousness, the ālaya. It contains the impressions of all your experiences. These impressions are the seeds of future karma, in this life and in future lives. If you understand how these layers work together, you see how habits arise and how they can change. The Vajrayana tradition goes further with this insight: in essence, the eight consciousnesses are wisdom. During this ten-day study week, you will explore the eight consciousnesses thoroughly under the guidance of Lama Jigmé Namgyal Rinpoche. The lessons are interspersed with time for questions.