Main mind

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Main mind (Tib. གཙོ་སེམས་, tso sem; Wyl. gtso sems), in Buddhist psychology and epistemology, refers to the six or eight sets of consciousness. It is distinguished from the mental states or processes, usually listed as fifty-one in number[1], which are said to perceive the features of objects, while main mind perceives only their basic identity.

Notes

  1. According to Asanga’s system. Vasubandhu lists forty-six.

Alternative Translations

  • principal awareness (Alexander Berzin)