The previous thought has ceased and the next thought has not yet arisen—what is the state in between?

When the previous thought has ceased and the next thought has not yet arisen, this does not mean that the seventh consciousness has ceased or that the seventh consciousness has not arisen; on the contrary, all seven consciousnesses exist and are all operating. Among them, the seventh consciousness can only cease when a fourth-fruit arhat enters nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa); no one else is able to forcibly terminate it. Ordinary beings lack the ability to extinguish it; bodhisattvas on the bhūmis and all Buddhas, though capable of extinguishing it, are unwilling to do so—therefore the seventh consciousness does not cease. When we occasionally have no thoughts, or in the intermediate state between the arising of thoughts, the mind consciousness or the five sense consciousnesses have not ceased; they still exist and are operating. At this time there is still a knowing present—knowing that one temporarily has no thoughts at this moment. This knowing is the arising-and-ceasing deluded mind with the mind consciousness as the main faculty. If one takes this mind to be the eighth consciousness, that is mistaken enlightenment.

In this state, the eye consciousness can still see forms, the ear consciousness can still hear sounds, the nose consciousness can still smell scents, the tongue consciousness can still discern the tastes in the mouth, the body consciousness can still feel whether the body is comfortable, and the mind consciousness can still know whether one has thoughts or not. At this time all six consciousnesses are present, the manas is also present, and the eighth consciousness necessarily exists. It is evident that when there is no thought, all eight consciousnesses are present. Then, when the previous thought has ceased and the next thought has not arisen, what exactly is in between? It is a temporary meditative concentration (samādhi) in which the mind consciousness does not grasp at mental sense-objects; there is still the existence of the mind consciousness within it, not only the eighth consciousness. Therefore, if one awakens at this time, one does not necessarily awaken to the eighth consciousness. If the mind consciousness is without thought and does not know or recognize the eighth consciousness, then awakening is even more impossible.

When there are no thoughts, or at least when the sixth, seventh, and eighth consciousnesses—all three—are present, it is possible to awaken to the eighth consciousness.

However, most people lack the ability to awaken to the eighth consciousness, because they do not meet the conditions for enlightenment. The mental nature of ordinary worldlings (pṛthagjana) has been far from subdued, and they are not yet qualified to be noble bodhisattvas; therefore they cannot, in this state, discern the eighth consciousness and thereby attain realization. Consequently, they often take the mind consciousness in the state of no thought to be the true mind, the eighth consciousness, and this becomes mistaken enlightenment—a wrong and erroneous mistake.

The true mind and the deluded mind exist simultaneously. Finding the deluded mind is easy; finding the true mind is very difficult. It requires certain causal conditions; if the causal conditions are not complete, one cannot realize the true mind, the eighth consciousness. Without realizing the eighth consciousness, one cannot begin cultivation from the eighth consciousness; only after finding the eighth consciousness can one cultivate after enlightenment. The thought-free mind consciousness is especially easy to confuse with the eighth consciousness. Many people think that a mind consciousness without thought is the eighth consciousness. In fact, regardless of whether you have thoughts or not, He—the eighth consciousness—has always existed; He did not come into existence only after cultivation.

When the ancient patriarchs investigated Chan and awakened, some awakened upon seeing forms, some upon hearing sounds, some when struck or shouted at, and some when squeezed by a door. The ways of awakening are varied and highly flexible. It is not necessary to awaken only when there are no thoughts; in fact, trying to awaken when there are no thoughts is extremely difficult. Therefore the patriarchs did not permit their disciples to cultivate thought-free samādhi; even if thought-free samādhi is accomplished, it cannot bring awakening.

By reading many Chan koans, one can know that most patriarchs' awakenings were true awakenings, and therefore they were all people who had attained the Way. People of modern times lack sufficient wholesome roots and merit, and often transmit the Buddha-dharma incorrectly, causing sentient beings to take detours in their practice. Our discerning ability is still insufficient, and we cannot distinguish right from wrong. If the state of no thought were the eighth consciousness, then when thoughts reappear a moment later, would the eighth consciousness have vanished? Would the eighth consciousness then not have become something that arises and ceases? "Limpidly clear and distinct"—"limpid" means knowing, and "clear and distinct" means understanding, which is also knowing. As long as there is knowing, it is the deluded mind. The true mind does not know; it is not limpidly clear and distinct.

The mind that is limpidly clear and distinct can know various states; it is not that it does not know. Whatever can know the six sense-objects is not the true mind. The true mind does not know the six sense-objects. What state one is currently in—the true mind does not know; this is precisely what the mind consciousness can know and discern. This is the key to direct realization! The mind consciousness is sometimes free of thought and is a "numinous knowing," but this is still knowing. A mind that can know the six sense-objects is not the true mind. Everyone should compare this more with the ancient Chan teachings, to see how the patriarchs awakened, at what moments they awakened, and what the content of their awakening was.

When the Sixth Patriarch awakened, he came to know the five "how unforeseen is self-nature (svabhāva)" statements. If he had awakened to a thought-free numinous knowing mind, there would be no way he could have known those five "how unforeseen is self-nature" statements. Compare this with the Heart Sutra: the true mind is unborn and undying, forever unchanging, whereas this numinous knowing mind is subject to arising and ceasing, changing back and forth, unable to remain forever unchanged. Whether the numinous knowing mind is the true mind or the deluded mind should then be clear in one's mind. This issue is extremely crucial; one must be careful. The great matter of birth and death cannot be treated vaguely. In studying the Dharma one must be cautious and prudent, seeking verification from many sources. If one happens to learn wrongly, that is not a matter of just one lifetime!