Spiritual Practice Is Cleansing the Mind

The manifestation of the solitary-shadow state occurs when the mental faculty (意根) clings to dharmic dust (法尘), engages with it, and then gives rise to thoughts. The Tathagatagarbha (如来藏) generates solitary-head consciousness (独头意识) to carry out the mental faculty's directive. Whatever dharmic object the mental faculty engages with, the solitary-head consciousness arises upon that very dharma, subsequently operating according to the mental faculty's will. Only after a thought arises in consciousness is there knowing. What is known is a dharma, which is like a piece of information – a dharmic dust – unrelated to the five sense dusts (五尘). It might be an idea, a recollection, an aspiration for the future, or an analysis and judgment regarding a problem. If the mental faculty wants to recall something, consciousness remembers past people and events. If the mental faculty wants to know the meaning of a certain statement, consciousness analyzes that statement. If the mental faculty considers the next day's itinerary, consciousness contemplates the next day's schedule.

The arising of thoughts in solitary-head consciousness is pulled by the mental faculty; it arises, ceases, and moves according to the mental faculty's thoughts and ideas. For example, when the mental faculty thinks of a person, the eighth consciousness (第八识) immediately manifests dharmas related to that person. Upon contact and contemplation by the mental faculty, a decision is made to consider it further. Consequently, solitary-head consciousness appears, engaging with the dharmas of that person, involving contact, sensation, perception, and thinking. After knowing this, the mental faculty will then make a decision. Following this, the solitary-head consciousness may continue to operate more deeply, or it may disappear from this dharma and appear upon another dharma that the mental faculty is clinging to.

The mental faculty's various clingings give rise to the scattered thoughts of solitary-head consciousness. At the very moment a thought first arises, no state (境) is manifested. The first instant is knowing the thought has arisen, and only then does the image of the state appear. There is a process between the arising of the thought and the manifestation of the state. The state was originally there, but without consciousness, it cannot be known. When consciousness appears, the first and second moments of discrimination are incomplete and unclear. Only in the third and fourth moments of discrimination can a conclusion be drawn, and an outline of the dharma emerges. Only later does analysis and thinking occur, clarifying the dharma. Most scattered thoughts in the mind are previously experienced states, called the "previously experienced realm" (曾习境). This shows that the mental faculty often, intentionally or unintentionally, grasps at dharmas, its habitual force strong. The mind is not empty; it cannot let go of all past experiences of people, events, and things. They are all kept swirling in the mind, unwilling to be relinquished. Garbage piles up within the heart, filthy and foul, and it never cleanses or sweeps itself.

Cultivation is precisely about frequently cleaning and sweeping the hygiene within the heart, undertaking a great cleaning and thorough clearance to maintain the purity of the mind-ground (心地). Only then can the mind's chamber (心室) radiate great light. This cleaning is led and supervised by consciousness. The mental faculty agrees, but the cleaning is still done by consciousness. Planning strategies and executing tasks are all handled by consciousness; the mental faculty only needs to nod, issue orders, and make the final decision.