Alaya

Alaya is essentially an Indian name most often associated with the Buddhist term “ālaya-vijñāna” which roughly translates to the “storehouse consciousness” with “ālaya” meaning “dwelling, abode” and “vijñāna” meaning “consciousness”. The concept was developed by the Yogācāra school of Indian Buddhism long ago sometime between the 2nd and 5th centuries – it basically represents our karma’s home-base, so to speak. It’s the 8th level of consciousness after the six senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, thought) and the seventh consciousness as represented by our misguided awareness or delusive perceptions of our stream-of-consciousness. The 8th consciousness provides the basis of the other seven – reflexive memory where all energy is stored – while the other seven levels of consciousness are forever evolving and transforming. The goal is to cleanse this mixture of yin/yang energy in the ālaya-vijñāna until it’s purified into goodness and wisdom; such purification leads to awakening. If you like this name for its Buddhist connection, then you might want to stick with the Alaya spelling (without the h) otherwise it looks more like an Americanized elaboration. Just consider the awe-inspiring Himalayan mountain range that spans the Indian subcontinent with Nepal/Tibet. Himalaya means “House of Snow” from the elements “alaya” (abode) and “hima” (snow). Lastly, some American parents are using Alaya(h) as an alternative spelling of Aliyah which means “ascent” in Hebrew in reference to the Jewish diaspora; in Zionist ideology it represents the Israelite’s return to the Promised Land from which the Jewish people were expelled dating back to the Babylonian exile of the 6th century B.C.