Repression and Seeds: A Yogācāra Reappraisal of Freud’s Theory of the Unconscious

This study offers a prolegomenon to a structural dialogue between classical psychoanalysis and Yogācāra Buddhist philosophy by examining the theory of the unconscious from a Yogācāra perspective. Rather than proposing an immediate synthesis, the paper clarifies the internal logic of each system before placing them into comparison. The unconscious, as articulated by Sigmund Freud, is grounded in instinctual realism, repression, and dynamic conflict among psychic agencies. Latent processes persist because repressed drives retain energetic force and seek indirect expression. Repetition, symptom formation, and neurosis are therefore structured by tension and compromise. In contrast, the Yogācāra model of consciousness explains continuity through causal conditioning rather than repression. The doctrine of ālaya-vijñāna (storehouse consciousness) accounts for the preservation of karmic seeds, while manas describes the reflexive appropriation that gives rise to the illusion of self. Latency is not the product of defensive exclusion but of dispositional potentiality. Suffering arises not primarily from instinctual conflict but from misrecognition and attachment to conditioned processes as substantial identity. By reconstructing each framework on its own terms, this paper identifies both structural parallels and decisive divergences. Freud’s model emphasizes energetic pressure and mediation among agencies, whereas Yogācāra emphasizes dependent origination and non-substantial process. The comparison reveals that while both traditions acknowledge unseen determinants of experience, they organize psychic life according to fundamentally different ontological commitments. This study does not yet advance a synthetic theory. Instead, it establishes the conceptual terrain necessary for further structural reinterpretation. Through careful differentiation, it prepares the philosophical groundwork for rethinking the unconscious beyond the opposition between instinctual force and causal conditioning.