Does the Eighth Consciousness Neither Discern Nor Discriminate the Six Sense Objects?

Question: Does the eighth consciousness fail to perceive and discriminate the six sense objects?

Answer: The eighth consciousness possesses the five universally present mental factors, and it must perceive and discriminate all the dharmas it upholds and maintains; otherwise, the eighth consciousness would have nothing it could do, for it cannot blindly change or create any dharma. Therefore, the eighth consciousness does perceive the six sense objects and also discriminates them. If it did not perceive and discriminate them, how could it change and give rise to the six sense objects? It is only that the content of the eighth consciousness's perception differs from that of the seven consciousnesses. The eighth consciousness also discriminates; if it did not discriminate, then when it gives rise to the six sense objects, it could not avoid mixing things up—creating things haphazardly and without any order. It is only that the dharmas the eighth consciousness discriminates are not like what the seven consciousnesses discriminate; its discrimination does not fall into worldly dharmas. The seven consciousnesses can only discriminate dharmas at the level of the mundane world, and can never, like the eighth consciousness, discriminate the supramundane dharmas that transcend the mundane world.

Regarding all dharmas, the eighth consciousness and the seven consciousnesses each bear their own responsibilities, each having different functions and roles, and they cannot substitute for one another. For the portion that the eighth consciousness is responsible for, only after the eighth consciousness has perceived and discriminated can the mental factor of volition (cetanā) become active and carry out any activity. For example, in evaluating a student's academic performance, each subject teacher can only assess the subject they teach; the content each teacher reviews and evaluates is certainly not the same. Only through harmonious cooperation and consolidation can the assessment of the student's academic performance be completed, so as to determine whether the graduation certificate should be issued.