The Direct Perception and Discernment of the Six Consciousnesses in Meditative Concentration

In meditative concentration, the six consciousnesses also engage in direct-perception discernment. In preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi), all six consciousnesses exist, and they can directly perceive, in present actuality, the six sense objects that are currently present or manifest. Among these, the lightness, expansiveness, comfort, and stretching of the body are discerned through the direct perception shared by the body consciousness and the mind consciousness, while an inner feeling of ethereal emptiness, hollowing out, and tranquility is discerned solely by the mind consciousness through its own direct perception, belonging to a solitary mental consciousness state. The mind consciousness may also, due to insufficient wisdom or insufficient knowledge of meditative concentration, fail to fully and directly perceive the states of meditative concentration; in that case, there exist discernments of inference and of erroneous cognition.

In the concentration of the first dhyāna, the mind consciousness together with the eye, ear, and body consciousnesses—three consciousnesses in all—jointly and directly perceive the four sense objects of form, sound, touch, and dharma. The mind consciousness can also, on its own, directly perceive inner feelings of tranquility (praśrabdhi), joy, serenity, and illusory emptiness, and can on its own directly perceive the dharma objects of the meditative state. The mind consciousness may also discern the dharma objects of the meditative state through inference and erroneous cognition. In the meditative state of the second dhyāna, only the mind consciousness exists alone, without the presence of the first five consciousnesses. Therefore, in the meditative state of the second dhyāna, the mind consciousness alone directly perceives the subtle and profound dharma objects of the meditative state. At this time, the mind consciousness's direct perception is extremely subtle and profound—almost imperceptible that there is any discernment of one's own, almost imperceptible that there is still a knowing within the mind, and almost imperceptible the deep joy and comfort within the mind, because it is so profound. In this state, there is no discernment by the mind consciousness through inference or erroneous cognition, because no chaotic or illusory meditative states appear; the mind consciousness abides in a state without initial application and sustained examination (vitarka-vicāra), and the activity of thinking and analysis has already ceased.