The Difference Between the True Mind and the Deluded Mind

The deluded mind has seven: the seventh consciousness, the manas, and the preceding six consciousnesses; there is only one true mind, the eighth consciousness. The manas is the mind that constantly and everywhere acts as the sovereign: "I want this, I want that, I should do this, I should do that"—always deliberating (manana), grasping (upādāna), and clinging without cease, always acting as the master. This is the nature of the seventh consciousness.

The six consciousnesses, on the other hand, discriminate the six sense objects. The moment the eye sees a material sense object, it knows what it is; this knowing is the knowing of the eye consciousness and the mind consciousness, which together discern the material sense object. The moment the ear hears a sound, it knows what sound it is; this knowing is the knowing of the ear consciousness and the mind consciousness. All such knowing is subject to arising and ceasing, impermanent; whatever can arise, cease, and change is deluded dharma. The mind engaged in discursive thinking is the mind consciousness, and the mind that knows it is not engaging in discursive thinking is also the mind consciousness—this is the mind consciousness's power of introspection upon itself. When sitting in meditation, the prior moment has ceased, the later moment has not yet arisen, and the interval in between is lucid and clear—this is the deluded mind consciousness. It is the deluded mind consciousness that knows whether one has thoughts at this moment; as long as there is knowing, it is deluded. The true mind does not know whether one has entered samādhi or not, and does not know whether there are thoughts or not.

The Buddha says in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra: 知见立知，即无明本。This refers to the knowing of the sixth consciousness (manovijñāna), meaning that to take the knowing of the sixth consciousness as real is the root of ignorance—it is deluded. It also says: 内守悠闲，犹是法尘分别影事。This too refers to the state of the mind consciousness being at ease with nothing to do; it is still a state of the mental sense object, discriminated by the mind consciousness. This mind is the deluded mind, the sixth consciousness, not the true mind.

When one sits in meditation until knowing nothing at all, the sixth consciousness still clearly knows that it knows nothing at all, knows that it has entered samādhi. This knowing is the introspective function of the deluded sixth consciousness, not the true mind. Because the mind that can discriminate and know that it is in this state of meditative concentration—a mental sense object—is the sixth consciousness; the true mind does not know. One must not take this mind as the true mind and claim to have awakened, for this is not a state of enlightenment.

Any knowing of the six sense objects is not the knowing of the true mind; the true mind never knows the six sense objects. The mental sense object is also one of the six sense objects, and the state of meditative concentration is a mental sense object, known by the mind consciousness. Even if one cultivates to the highest samādhi in the three realms, the samādhi of neither perception nor non-perception, there is still a perception within that samādhi—and this perception is knowing, still the sixth consciousness. If this knowing is extinguished, one realizes the fourth fruit of arhatship and immediately enters nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa), ending birth and death, transcending the three realms, and attaining liberation. Therefore, as long as one takes any kind of knowing to be real, one cannot realize the fruits, cannot eliminate self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi), and remains an ordinary being of birth and death (pṛthagjana).

The mind that discerns the state of samādhi within samādhi, knowing that one has already entered samādhi, is the mind consciousness; when the mind consciousness temporarily has no deluded thoughts, one can enter samādhi. When the mind consciousness exits samādhi, deluded thoughts immediately arise—one moment there are thoughts, the next moment there are none. Whatever changes back and forth is not the real mind; the real mind never changes, and is always thus. Moreover, the thought-free mind in samādhi cannot be maintained for long; sooner or later it will change—it is only a temporary phenomenon of thought-freeness. Even if one can remain in samādhi for eighty thousand great kalpas, the mind consciousness must eventually exit samādhi, and once out, there are thoughts again, distraction again. Therefore the thought-free mind consciousness in samādhi is a conditioned dharma subject to arising and ceasing. The nature of the sixth consciousness has one point of resemblance to the eighth consciousness: both are formless and without characteristics, and thus they are difficult to distinguish. One must thoroughly discern the natures of both, so as not to mistake one for the other. This point is of utmost importance; the great matter of birth and death admits no vagueness. Once you have studied the sūtras thoroughly, you will understand.