The Theory of the Innate Purity of Mind and Ālayavijñāna

This essay compares the theory of the innate purity of the mind of the Mahāsāṃghika with the ālayavijñāna of the Yogācāra school. Since this school inherited not only the theory of momentariness but also the idea of citta caittas from the Sarvāstivādins, it was considered to be contrary to the theory of the innate purity of the mind based on the continuity of mind, that is, the theory of liberation from desiring mind. However, this view overlooks the corresponding relationship between mind and body, called ekayogakṣema found in the early theory of ālayavijñāna, and the circularity between Seeds and occurring mind （Seeds engendering manifest activity, and manifest activity perfuming Seeds） that enables a pluralistic flow of mind. As a matter of fact, emphasizing the liberation through meditative practice, ālayavijñāna is the active theory of purity. In other words, ālayavijñāna is said to be about paratantra-svabhāva, but it depends on one’s own efforts to change it to pariniṣpanna-svabhāva or parikalpita-svabhāva through practice, and it can be said that it is on the line of a kind of theory of the innate purity of the mind.