The Knowing of the First Six Consciousnesses

The intrinsic nature and function of the six consciousnesses is discernment and discrimination; this so-called discernment and discrimination is knowing. As long as there is knowing, the six consciousnesses exist. This knowing is sometimes felt very distinctly, so that we ourselves can perceive it, and sometimes the feeling is not very distinct, so that we do not even know that we are knowing. When we ourselves know that there is a knowing within the mind, that is the self-validating cognition (sva-saṃvitti-saṃvitti-bhāga) of the mind consciousness. This knowing sometimes takes the form of inner sounds, words, and language, and sometimes there is no inner voice, no language, and no words.

This knowing sometimes has thoughts and sometimes has no thoughts; whether or not there are thoughts, it is still the knowing of the mind consciousness. Knowing without thoughts can only appear when there is some meditative concentration (samādhi), or under other special circumstances—for example, when one is frightened, or in extreme joy, or in sorrow, or in meditative absorption. At such times the mind is not in a state of knowing nothing at all. As long as there is a knowing that knows one has no thoughts, that knows one's mind is calm, this knowing is the mind consciousness knowing mental sense-objects (dharmas).

If one can still clearly know the objects of the five sense-objects, then there is also the knowing of the five sense consciousnesses. Of course, this does not depart from the knowing of the eighth consciousness and the seventh consciousness (manas). When the mind consciousness is able to introspect, able to observe that it has knowing or that it has known something, and to know the state of its own mind, this is the self-validating cognition (sva-saṃvitti-saṃvitti-bhāga) of the mind consciousness. When our wisdom is insufficient and our meditative concentration is also insufficient, this power of introspection is very weak; we cannot fully and truly know our own state of mind, nor can we detect our own afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion. As a result, the afflictive obstructions (kleśāvaraṇa) cannot be actively subdued, and it becomes very difficult for our practice to advance.