What Is Sensory Consciousness in the Early Yogācāra? A Hermeneutical Analysis of the Pañcavijñānakāyasamprayuktā Bhūmi

The Pañcavijñānakāyasamprayuktā Bhūmi (PBh), the opening chapter of the Basic Section (*Maulī Bhūmi) of the Yogācārabhūmi, presents a distinctive fivefold schema for analyzing the structure of “the group of five [sensory] consciousnesses” (pañcavijñānakāya). This schema comprises the following five categories: (1) nature (svabhāva), (2) basis (āśraya), (3) cognitive object (ālambana), (4) co-operating factors (sahāyas), and (5) activity (karma). Each category articulates a specific aspect of the five types of sensory consciousness: their intrinsic characteristics, conditions of arising, intentional objects, associated mental factors, and cognitive functions. Within the PBh, visual consciousness (cakṣurvijñāna), corresponding to the act of seeing, is presented as a representative instance of this group. Accordingly, this paper offers a detailed examination of visual consciousness as structured by the fivefold schema, with the aim of clarifying its cognitive content within the context of early Yogācāra thought.