The Stages and Conditions of Contemplative Practice

The so-called contemplation and practice, prior to realization, is referred to as contemplation, involving profound and subtle thinking, investigation, inquiry, and searching; after realization, it is called observation, enabling one to observe directly, observing the functioning of the eighth consciousness within the five aggregates body, observing the mysteries of all phenomena, which also includes deeper and subtler mental activities and processes of inquiry. Contemplation and practice both before and after realization must occur within meditative concentration; without meditative concentration, it is merely intellectual learning and understanding, involving shallow thinking. The contemplation and practice of the Four Noble Truths, the contemplation seeking the eighth consciousness, the contemplation of illusion, the contemplation like a mirage, the contemplation like a dream, the contemplation like a mirror image—these contemplative wisdoms progress layer by layer, becoming increasingly profound and subtle.

The so-called awakening must entail the conscious mind (manas) personally realizing the eighth consciousness; it does not consist merely in understanding the principle of the eighth consciousness. That knowledge can be acquired through various means, but awakening to the eighth consciousness must be personally realized through Chan (Zen) practice. Awakening is not knowledge or principles learned; it is what the manas personally realizes.