What is the relationship between the shadow in the mirror and the mirror itself?

When the mind consciousness directs its attention toward material form sense-objects, the seeds of consciousness flow forth onto the material form sense-objects; when the mind consciousness directs its attention toward sound sense-objects, the seeds of consciousness flow forth onto the sound sense-objects. When the mind consciousness is discerning various sense-objects simultaneously, it must constantly switch between sense-objects to direct its attention, or it may direct attention to them simultaneously; without meditative concentration, the mind becomes restless and distracted. When the discernment of two mental sense-objects has a primary and a secondary aspect, the primary aspect receives a bit more attention, and the secondary aspect a bit less. When the mind consciousness switches its attention in discernment, there is knowing and not-knowing; but when attention is directed simultaneously in discernment, all sense-objects are known, with the difference of knowing more or knowing less.

When the eye sees form, can it not simultaneously hear sounds? Can it not simultaneously smell scents? Can it not simultaneously feel tangibles? Can it not simultaneously walk? Can it not simultaneously speak? Can it not simultaneously recollect? All of these are possible; the discernment must have primary and secondary aspects, with some clear and some unclear. When the switching of attention is very, very rapid, the conscious mind does not perceive that the discernment is intermittent, just like watching a movie. The seeds of consciousness of the mind consciousness can arise simultaneously upon the six sense-objects; that would be like a river dividing into branches—the power is weak, the discernment is unclear, and wisdom cannot arise; this is when there is no power of meditative concentration. When the power of concentration is quite good, one can use one mind for many tasks; the mind consciousness is powerful in every aspect, the discernment is clear in all, and there is wisdom in all.

The mind consciousness can simultaneously manifest two or three mental engagement mental factors; the five universally present mental factors can operate upon two or three dharmas—all of this is no problem, and the manifestation of multiple mental engagement mental factors is possible; however, the power will be weak, and the discerning power not strong; especially where relatively subtle discernment is required, the power becomes weak. The mind consciousness can simultaneously direct its attention to sound sense-objects and material form sense-objects, and can also direct its attention to tangible sense-objects, scent sense-objects, and taste sense-objects, with the seeds of consciousness flowing forth simultaneously. If all are to be attended to well, with clear discernment, that requires quite skillful technique and quite excellent meditative concentration.

For example, an acrobat must not only balance on the rolling wheel beneath his feet, but also hold a water cup or something on his head, and keep the hoop in his hands spinning; several things must all be attended to well, coordinated and unified, which requires a certain amount of training. The training trains not only the six consciousnesses but in fact also trains the manas, enabling the manas to coordinate all the movements, planning comprehensively and attending to all. The seeds of consciousness of the mind consciousness must not only flow forth simultaneously; the seeds of consciousness of the manas must also flow forth simultaneously upon several dharmas—like a river dividing into branches, yet without losing its power—this requires a high degree of coordination and focus. Therefore, focus does not only mean concentrating attention on a single dharma; one can focus on multiple dharmas, attending to all comprehensively and handling them well.