In this paper, I argue that latent tendencies (anusaya) in early Buddhism are not subconscious/unconscious entities, but that later schools came to view them as such because this view helps them to answer the question of how noble persons eradicate mental defilements. I also show that Theravadin school, on the other hand, does not view such mental defilements as subconscious, but it fails to convincingly answer the aforesaid question. Finally, I argue that there does exist an way to answer that question without resorting to anything subconscious/unconscious. When we interpret the sentence “The noble person X has eradicated the defilement A” as a shorthand for the statement “X’s enlightenment in the past is guaranteed to produce the anti-A factor in him whenever he is tempted to harbor A,” we do not need to assume anything of subconscious/unconscious nature. This theory, if correct, would complete the seemingly incomplete early Buddhist model of mind, and would render the Yogācārin concept of ālayavijñāṇa into a solution looking for a problem. I also deal with other relevant issues: (1) Is sīlabbataparāmāsa a type of anusaya? (2) Three levels of moral evil, and (3) Why there are only seven anusayas.
I. Introduction
II. The Early Buddhist Context
III. Later Controversial Theories
IV. A Question That Needs to Be Answered
V. A New Approach
VI. Other Relevant Issues
VII. Concluding Remarks