What Are the Mind That Is Reciting and the Mind That Knows the Recitation During Silent Recitation

When reciting mantras, whether aloud or silently, it is the isolated consciousness that recites, while the mental faculty's recitation is without language or words. The awareness that knows silent recitation is the reflective power of consciousness; this reflective power is the self-witnessing portion, where the isolated consciousness cognizes and reflects upon itself. Of course, if the recitation becomes very familiar, the mental faculty may also engage in recitation and awareness. During silent recitation by consciousness, the mental faculty possesses awareness; when consciousness engages in reflection, the mental faculty also possesses awareness—this awareness is profound, subtle, difficult to perceive, and hard to discern. The mental faculty takes the reflective function of the isolated consciousness and the function of silently reciting the mantra, perceiving them both as its own functions, believing that it is itself that is reciting and knowing.

If one's meditative concentration is relatively good, the mental faculty can also participate in reciting the mantra, and consciousness can observe this. However, it becomes difficult to distinguish the functional boundaries between consciousness and the mental faculty, leading to easy confusion. When meditative concentration is present, firstly, body and mind can separate, becoming clear and distinct, their connection less intimate. The sixth and seventh consciousnesses can also separate from each other, maintaining a certain distance apart, which allows each phenomenon to appear clearly and distinctly, creating an illusory feeling toward each phenomenon. Without meditative concentration, all phenomena are tangled together, inseparable and unclear; they then feel very real and concrete when mixed together, leading to strong grasping tendencies and resulting in heavy afflictions. The benefits of meditative concentration are beyond description. Without meditative concentration, it is best not to claim that one has any spiritual practice.