The Shi moheyanlun 釋摩訶衍論 (abbreviated as Shilun), a commentary on the Awakening of Mahāyāna Faith 大乘起信論, has the special characteristic of making new words to express its interpretations. This creativity is apparent in the mental deliberation 心量 and consciousness 識 of the second volume, which mentions four consciousness: the 9th “consciousness of many in a single mind 多一識心,” the 10th “consciousness of each and every mind 一一識心,” the 9th “amalavijñāna 唵摩羅識,” and the 10th “all things are nothing but consciousness 一切一心識.”
However, the Shilun does not give a detailed account of the four kinds of consciousness. Therefore, I examined the connection between mental deliberation and the two approaches 二門, the relationship between “consciousness of many in a single mind” and “all things are nothing but consciousness,” and the position of amalavijñāna by analyzing the interpretations presented in the Shilun commentaries. This analysis showed that the 10 forms of consciousness are limited from the 1st to the 9th mental deliberation, so the 9th amalavijñāna is included in the 9th ālayavijñāna, and the 10th “all things are nothing but consciousness” corresponds to the 9th “consciousness of many in a single mind.”
