  Modern interpreters have proposed that we regard the function of this life-continuum mind as being primarily subliminal, although its  precise operations are not clearly specified. Thus, Cousins (1981,  28–30) and Nyayatiloka (1980, 27f) suggest that the principal  function of bhava-aṅga may well be that of either  accessing or carrying forth the dispositions, habits, and essential  characteristics of the person. As such, it may not be a conditioning  factor for the arising of cognitive awareness, but rather merely a  subliminal level of mental processing.