Three Ways of Discrimination by the Seven Consciousnesses

Non-valid cognition (non-valid cognition) means that the result of the consciousness's discernment is erroneous and does not accord with facts; or does it mean that the manner of the consciousness's discernment can involve imagination, fantasy, conjecture, and prediction? It means that the manner of the consciousness's discernment can involve imagination, fantasy, conjecture, and prediction.

Then only the mind consciousness can have the mode of discernment of non-valid cognition. The five sense consciousnesses must discern through direct perception, the manas must discern through direct perception, and the eighth consciousness always discerns through direct perception; what it discerns are all directly perceived realms, because all dharmas are manifested by the eighth consciousness in the present moment, and for the eighth consciousness they are all dharmas existing right before it; therefore they are all directly perceived realms.

Dharmas that are not directly perceived realms cannot be perceived or cognized by the seventh consciousness, the manas. Therefore, if one wants the manas to accept and acknowledge a certain dharma, it must be a dharma of direct perception, grounded in facts, extremely real, with clear reasoning and a discernible structure. That is why eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) in the manas is far more difficult than eradicating it in the mind consciousness; it cannot be accomplished merely by thinking it over and pondering a bit. It requires deep and thorough contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), with the manas continuously weighing and selecting, until the reasons are sufficient and the principles are clear, presenting themselves as fact; only then can the manas acknowledge it.

The five sense consciousnesses also discern the realms of the five sense objects through direct perception. As for the five sense objects not currently present, the five sense consciousnesses cannot imagine and discern them, nor can they fantasize any realms of the five sense objects.

As for any dharmas that the mind consciousness imagines, fantasizes, recollects, or anticipates, they must all be images presented by the eighth consciousness; one could say they arise out of nothing, but they are all conjured up and sustained by the eighth consciousness. Therefore what the eighth consciousness discerns are all dharmas of direct perception, and it need not discern any dharmas through non-valid cognition or inference.

Whenever anyone's mind consciousness discerns, all three valid cognitions are present: direct perception, inference, and non-valid cognition. Knowing through direct perception is knowing the dharmas that exist right here and now; dharmas that do not currently exist are not known, without needing to recollect or imagine and compare, without processing the dharmas—whatever is present in the moment is just what it is.