Can a person who does not distinguish between the true and the false attain enlightenment?

Investigating the huatou: "Who is reciting the Buddha's name?" Who is one looking for here? Is one looking for the eighth consciousness, or for the manas, or for the sixth consciousness? The consciousness that can recite the Buddha's name must certainly possess the mental factor of mindfulness (smṛti); otherwise, it would be unable to recite the Buddha's name. If investigating the huatou means investigating the mind consciousness, then it is unnecessary; if it means investigating the manas, the manas certainly has the mental factor of mindfulness, but investigating the manas cannot lead to seeing one's true mind and attaining enlightenment. If it means investigating the eighth consciousness, the eighth consciousness certainly has the mental factor of mindfulness.

The eighth consciousness participates in the operation of any dharma whatsoever. Some people, based on this characteristic—or one might say this theory—infer that the eighth consciousness is present in certain dharmas operating within the five aggregates and eighteen realms, and from this they infer how the eighth consciousness operates, roughly what function it performs, and thereupon believe they have attained enlightenment.

In reality, the operation of any dharma within the five aggregates and eighteen realms is produced by the harmonious functioning of all eight consciousnesses; it is not the result of the eighth consciousness operating alone. If one claims to have realized the eighth consciousness, then in the process of the operation of the five aggregates and eighteen realms, one should be able to find all eight consciousnesses and distinguish them all, clearly pointing out which one is the eighth consciousness and specifically how it operates, while at the same time negating the functions and roles of the seven consciousnesses as being real, realizing that the five aggregates truly have no self. Only this is genuine enlightenment—seeing one's true mind. Otherwise, one does not even qualify as having intellectual understanding.

In reality, the vast majority of people cannot deduce or guess this by themselves; they inquire everywhere and are given hints by others. If the hints are correct, that would be fine, but the crux is that the person giving the hints has not clearly distinguished which of the eight consciousnesses within the five aggregates and eighteen realms is which, how each operates, and what function each performs; they mix carrots and scallions together and tell people, "This is the function of the eighth consciousness," and in this way it counts as realization and enlightenment.

The distance from such a state to genuine realization cannot even be measured, yet they resolutely believe they have awakened. In fact, they have been misled—the "mis" of misleading others and oneself. It is pitiable. I have encountered some people who are misled in this way: they cannot keep even the basic precepts, lack even the basic Buddhist views and knowledge, have not a trace of even basic meditative concentration, and are laden with the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion—possibly mere beginners in Buddhism.

The dharma-mark of reciting the Buddha's name is produced by the harmonious, joint operation of all eight consciousnesses. If someone infers that the one reciting the Buddha's name is the eighth consciousness, and based on this inference believes they have realized the eighth consciousness and thus attained seeing the true mind, then can the eighth consciousness actually recite the Buddha's name? If the eighth consciousness can recite the Buddha's name, then one could extinguish the six consciousnesses and let the eighth consciousness recite the Buddha's name by itself, or extinguish the manas and let the eighth consciousness recite the Buddha's name by itself.

If that were the case, then in nirvāṇa without remainder, the eighth consciousness could likewise recite the Buddha's name. Would nirvāṇa without remainder still be tranquil and unconditioned? Would it still be the state of nirvāṇa? Clearly not. Therefore, this contrived notion of the eighth consciousness reciting the Buddha's name is erroneous; it is not enlightenment—seeing one's true mind. At most it is intellectual understanding, or perhaps not even that.

If the eighth consciousness could recite the Buddha's name, then at the time of death, no matter how wretched the six consciousnesses and the manas are, no matter how strong their greed, hatred, and delusion, and no matter how heavy the karmic obstructions, it would suffice as long as the eighth consciousness could recite the Buddha's name, and one could resonate with Amitābha Buddha and be received into the land of bliss (Sukhāvatī).

By the same logic, everyone who believes they have attained enlightenment and realized the eighth consciousness does so because they have inferred that the function of some dharma's operation belongs to the eighth consciousness. But in reality, no matter which dharma it is, it is never the operation of the eighth consciousness alone; it is always the result of the harmonious operation of all eight consciousnesses, containing both the true and the deluded. Without negating the deluded dharmas, how can one realize the true eighth consciousness? If one cannot distinguish the true from the deluded among the eight consciousnesses—which deluded one performs what function, and which true one specifically performs what function—how can this be realizing true suchness? To take dharmas produced by the joint operation of the true and the deluded entirely as the functions of the eighth consciousness—can this also count as attaining enlightenment and realizing the eighth consciousness?

If this counted as realizing the eighth consciousness, then according to the pattern of the eighth consciousness's operation—the eighth consciousness operates within all dharmas and participates in all dharmas—one could simply point out any particular dharma and declare that this dharma is the eighth consciousness. Would not most people then be able to realize the eighth consciousness and thereby attain seeing the true mind and enlightenment? Could everyone in the world who cannot distinguish the true from the deluded, knowing a little about the nature of the eighth consciousness, attain enlightenment? Without keeping precepts and cultivating concentration, without deep prajñā wisdom, could they all attain enlightenment? Without cultivating the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, without cultivating the bodhisattva's six perfections, without eliminating the self-view of the five aggregates, could they all swiftly attain seeing the true mind and enlightenment?

How deep and how murky the waters of Buddhism are, and how many seekers have been drowned in them—who can truly know? And how this should be dealt with—who can know?