What Is the Mind of Numinous Awareness Apart from Thoughts?

Being free of thoughts means having departed from thoughts, with no thoughts remaining. Luminous knowing means keen, alert knowing. When there are no thoughts yet one can still know keenly—which of the seven consciousnesses is capable of this?

When the mind consciousness has no thoughts, it still knows form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas. At that time, does the eye consciousness have knowing—can it know red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple? It has knowing. Does the ear consciousness have knowing—knowing the coarse and heavy marks and the vibrating marks of sounds? It has knowing. Does the nose consciousness have knowing—knowing the coarse and heavy marks and the pungent marks of scent objects? It has knowing. Does the tongue consciousness have knowing—knowing the coarse and heavy marks of taste objects? It has knowing. Does the body consciousness have knowing—knowing the coarse and heavy marks of touch objects? It has knowing. Does the mind consciousness have knowing—knowing the mental dharmas upon the five sense objects? It has knowing. Does the seventh consciousness have knowing—knowing all the realms of the six sense objects? It has knowing. Does the eighth consciousness have knowing—knowing the mental activities of the manas, knowing karmic seeds, knowing the material world (the vessel world of the universe)? It has knowing. It is thus evident that although the mind consciousness is without thoughts, this does not affect the knowing nature of any consciousness. The knowing of the manas governs the six consciousnesses, and the knowing of the eighth consciousness governs all dharmas.

By the same token, when the mind consciousness is neither thinking of good nor thinking of evil, which consciousnesses are operating? All eight consciousnesses are operating. Then how can one distinguish, at that time, between the deluded mind of the seven consciousnesses and the true mind of the eighth consciousness? How can one realize the eighth consciousness without mistaking the minds of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses for the eighth consciousness?

Some people take a certain dharma within the operation of the five aggregates and claim it is the operation of the eighth consciousness. If that is so, then from now on one should extinguish the six consciousnesses and let the eighth consciousness operate by itself, extinguish the seven consciousnesses and let the eighth consciousness operate by itself—to see how the eighth consciousness could still operate after departing from the seven consciousnesses. Clearly this is impossible. Therefore, one must engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) on the five aggregates, negate and eradicate the view that the five aggregates are the self, and not take the functions of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses as truly being the self; then one will recognize that unborn and unceasing true mind, the eighth consciousness.

The enlightenment of people nowadays basically consists of taking the result of the combined operation of all eight consciousnesses and pinning it all on the single eighth consciousness, obliterating the functions and roles of the seven consciousnesses. If the functions and roles of the seven consciousnesses could indeed be obliterated, that would of course be wonderful—then at every moment and in every place there would be only the functions and roles of the eighth consciousness, with no need for the seven consciousnesses; all dharmas would be the sole functions and roles of the eighth consciousness, all would be the eighth consciousness, and one would then have realized the one true dharma realm, not far from buddhahood. But if the functions of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses were not present, then at that time who would be the one knowing that all dharmas are the eighth consciousness? If the eighth consciousness could still function independently apart from the seven consciousnesses, then in Nirvāṇa without remainder the eighth consciousness would likewise still be able to give rise to all dharmas—would that still be a state of nirvāṇa?