The Knowing of the Mind Consciousness Contains the Knowing of the Manas and the Knowing of the Eighth Consciousness

Question: When calming down and carefully contemplating, one can clearly perceive that there exists a clear and lucid "I." What is that "I"? And what is the knowing that knows that "I"?

Answer: Perceiving a clear and lucid "I"—this "I" is precisely the various functions and operations of the mind consciousness, which is the most easily observed and perceived, such as this "I" perceiving, observing, analyzing, thinking, judging, feeling, sensing, choosing, deliberating, reasoning, seeking, and so on—these are the functions and operations of the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception, the aggregate of volitional formations, and the aggregate of consciousness. And the "knowing" that knows these various functions and operations of this "I" is the knowing of the mind consciousness's introspective function, which is the self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana) of the mind consciousness.

Within the operation of all these dharmas, among the various knowings of the mind consciousness, there is also the knowing of the manas and the knowing of the eighth consciousness; there are the functions and operations of both the manas and the eighth consciousness. When the mind consciousness knows, there must be the "knowing" of the manas accompanying it, and there must also be the "knowing" of the eighth consciousness accompanying it. Without the knowing of the manas, the mind consciousness would necessarily perish and cease to exist, and could not arise; without the knowing of the eighth consciousness, the knowing of the mind consciousness would likewise necessarily not exist, necessarily not arise, and would necessarily perish and vanish.