Direct Perception and Discrimination of the Six Consciousnesses (One)

The state of direct perception (pratyakṣa) that we usually speak of refers to the various states that are occurring right now, at present, in the current moment. Direct-perception discernment means that the six consciousnesses can observe, discern, and personally verify the real existence of certain dharmas in the present moment, without comparative thinking activities such as comparing, matching, imagining, or inferring; what is discerned is all factual truth. The first five consciousnesses discern the states of the five sense-objects entirely through direct perception, discerning the five sense-object states that exist right now, that are occurring and operating at this very moment. The sixth consciousness has the discernment of three types of cognition: inference, non-valid cognition, and direct perception, but the sixth consciousness can also discern presently existing states through direct perception; in many situations, the sixth consciousness's discernment is inferential or non-valid. When the six consciousnesses discern states through direct perception, they are discerning the present moment, discerning the states that exist right before them, without needing to compare, imagine, or investigate; when the result of discernment completely accords with the facts, it is called direct-perception discernment.

When the conscious mind discerns presently appearing states—for example, while observing the mountains, rivers, and great earth before one's eyes—at this time the eye consciousness is discerning through direct perception the visible colors of the mountains, rivers, and great earth, such as the hues of the landscape and the colors of the land; when seeing forms, what first enters the eyes is this scene. The consciousness, on the other hand, discerns the shapes, expressive features, and non-expressive features of the mountains, rivers, and great earth: for example, the size, height, and shape of mountains, the length, width, and depth of rivers, and so on—these are shapes. The contours of mountains, the momentum of waters, the state of flowing water, and so on are expressive features; the loftiness, steepness, bareness, and uprightness of mountains, the surging turbulence, deep seclusion, or tranquility of waters, and so on are non-expressive features. All these states exist in the present moment; what can be observed and identified by consciousness in the present is a state of direct perception—no comparison is needed, no imagination is needed, and the discernment is real—therefore both the mind consciousness and the eye consciousness are discerning through direct perception. The consciousness also has inferential and non-valid discernment; some states can only be discerned clearly and understood through comparison, imagination, and thinking—this is the consciousness's inferential discernment. Of course, there may also occur situations of mistaken discernment, mistaken judgment, or mistaken thinking; such erroneous discernment necessarily belongs to non-valid discernment.

When thinking and judgment are mistaken, compounded by insufficient experience and wisdom, conclusions drawn by inference are often erroneous conclusions; when the conclusion does not accord with the facts, it is discernment that is not in accord with reality; discernment not in accord with reality is non-valid discernment, because such discernment does not conform to actual circumstances. Among ignorant sentient beings, the probability of non-valid discernment is relatively high; among instances of solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta), the probability of non-valid discernment is also relatively high; and among people with abnormal nerves and minds, the probability of non-valid discernment is even greater. For example, a person is wolfing down some kind of food, eating as if it were very delicious; the person nearby thinks: "This food this person is eating must be very tasty—otherwise how could he eat it with such relish," never imagining that the person has been hungry for a long time and finds anything he eats delicious. So this person joins in and eats too, but after taking the first bite and chewing, he immediately spits it out; he senses a moldy taste in the food and begins to feel nauseated. This is erroneous discernment through inference, a mistaken judgment caused by insufficient experience. There are extremely many examples of this kind, too numerous to count.