Can a person who cannot distinguish the true from 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 conscious mind that recites the Buddha's name certainly has the mental factor of mindfulness (smṛti); otherwise, it could not 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 the mind and realizing 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 become enlightened.

In fact, the operation of any dharma within the five aggregates and eighteen realms is produced by the combined operation 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 real, realizing that the five aggregates truly have no self. Only this is genuine enlightenment and seeing the mind; otherwise, one does not even attain an intellectual understanding.

In reality, the vast majority of people cannot deduce or guess this on their own; they inquire everywhere and are hinted at by others. If the hint is correct, that would be fine, but the problem is that the person giving the hint 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, and yet mixes the carrot and the scallion together, telling people, "This is the function of the eighth consciousness," and in this way they are considered to have realized enlightenment.

The distance between this and realizing enlightenment is immeasurable, yet they categorically claim they are enlightened; in fact, they are deluded—the "delusion" of deluding others and deluding oneself—how pitiable. I have encountered some people deluded in this way: they cannot keep even the basic precepts, lack even the basic Buddhist views and understanding, have not a trace of even basic meditative concentration, and are burdened with heavy afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion; they may be nothing more than beginner Buddhists.

The dharma-mark of reciting the Buddha's name is produced by the combined, harmonious 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, that they have seen the 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 then still be tranquil and unconditioned? Would it still be a nirvāṇic state? Obviously not. Therefore, this notion of the eighth consciousness reciting the Buddha's name is erroneous; it is not seeing the mind and realizing enlightenment—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 consumed by greed, anger, and delusion, no matter how heavy the karmic obstructions, it would suffice that the eighth consciousness can recite the Buddha's name, and one would resonate with Amitābha Buddha and be received into the land of bliss (sukhāvatī).

By the same logic, everyone who believes they have become enlightened and realized the eighth consciousness does so because they have inferred that in the operation of some dharma, it is the function of the eighth consciousness. But in reality, no matter which dharma it is, it is never the eighth consciousness acting alone; it is always the result of the combined operation of all eight consciousnesses, containing both the true and the false. Without negating the false dharmas, how can one realize the true eighth consciousness? If one cannot distinguish the true from the false among the eight consciousnesses—which is false and what function it performs, which is true and what specific function it performs—how can this be realizing true suchness (tathatā)? To take dharmas produced by the joint operation of the true and the false and regard them all as the functions of the eighth consciousness—can this count as enlightenment and realization of 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 specific dharma and say, "This dharma is the eighth consciousness." Would that not mean most people could realize the eighth consciousness and thereby see the mind and become enlightened? Could everyone in the world who cannot distinguish the true from the false, knowing a little about the nature of the eighth consciousness, all become enlightened? Without keeping precepts or cultivating concentration, without deep prajñā wisdom, could they all become enlightened? Without cultivating the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, without cultivating the bodhisattva's six perfections, without eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) regarding the five aggregates, could they all swiftly see the mind and become enlightened?

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