Direct Perception and Mistaken Perception (Non-valid Cognition)

When sitting in meditation with eyes closed, after a period of time, grasping gradually diminishes, and various images will appear. These are not thought up by the mind consciousness; when you try to see them clearly using the mind consciousness, the images disappear. When you sit quietly again, various images appear once more.

During meditation, some images are thought up by the mind consciousness, while some are not produced by the mind consciousness—they emerge directly from the brain, that is, from the manas. These are states of direct perception, the most real and usable, and they open wisdom. When you use the mind consciousness to observe them, the power of meditative concentration has already been reduced and diluted, and the states will disappear. The mind consciousness has an interfering effect—it interferes with the arising of the manas's wisdom. As for what is thought up from the mind consciousness, it is the result of sentiment and intellectual understanding, and sometimes it is also mere random imagining; it is of little use, and most of it is erroneous cognition (non-valid cognition). What is to be proven, what is to be personally realized, must emerge directly from the brain, with the mind consciousness knowing it only afterward, and then suddenly awakening with a great realization. True enlightenment is precisely this kind of situation. Without the power of meditative concentration, do not fantasize about having this kind of fundamental, direct awakening.