The Eight Consciousnesses (Skt. aṣṭa-vijñāna-kāya) is a classification developed in the tradition of the Yogacara school of Mahayana Buddhism. They enumerate the five sense consciousnesses, supplemented by the mental consciousness (mano-vijñāna), the defiled mental consciousness (kliṣṭa-manas), and finally the fundamental store-house consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna), which is the basis of the other seven. This eighth consciousness is said to store the impressions (vasanas) of previous experiences, which form the seeds (bija) of future karma in this life and in the next after rebirth.

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