The Lesser Vehicle (Hinayana) adherents and the proponents of the Vinaya Pitaka assert that sentient beings possess only one consciousness, which encompasses all the various consciousnesses such as the Alayavijnana (Store Consciousness), the Manas (Mental Consciousness), the Manovijnana (Mind Consciousness), and the Vijñana (Sensory Consciousness). This one consciousness utilizes the six sense faculties to perceive the six objects of perception. They explain this concept using the analogy of the six windows and a monkey.
In Mahayana Buddhism, the concept of one consciousness is also established. It is regarded as the Dharmadhatu Wisdom, the essential nature of the Great Sun Tathagata.