Direct Perception and Discrimination by the Six Consciousnesses (Part 4)

When the nose perceives fragrances, the scents themselves constitute the present objective realm of direct perception, which can be cognized by both the olfactory consciousness and the mental consciousness. The olfactory consciousness, in the first moment, directly perceives the degree to which the scent stimulates the nasal mucosa. Subsequently, in the second moment, the mental consciousness discerns whether the scent is fragrant or foul. Thereafter, the mental consciousness further discerns what specific kind of fragrance or foulness it is, how strong the fragrance or foulness is, from what object it emanates, and how far or near it is from oneself, and so on. This mental object (dharma-dhātu) can be cognized by the mental consciousness through direct perception, but it can also be cognized through inferential cognition and non-valid cognition. This is because the mental consciousness lacks complete knowledge regarding scents and thus cannot engage solely in direct perception. Only when wisdom reaches perfection does the cognition of all dharmas become entirely direct perception. This level may be attained only by the Buddha alone.

If the Buddha were to engage in inferential cognition or non-valid cognition, then He would not be the possessor of omniscience (sarvajñatā). This would indicate that the Buddha’s wisdom still has imperfections, and that there exist dharmas He cannot directly perceive. In that case, He could not be called the Buddha of omniscience, but at most a Wonderful Enlightenment Bodhisattva. The Buddha can perfectly and directly perceive all dharmas of the world without the need for comparison or imaginative thought, because His wisdom and virtuous capabilities are perfectly complete.

When tasting food and drink, the gustatory consciousness directly perceives the coarse object of taste (rasa-dhātu). The cognition in the first moment is necessarily that of the gustatory consciousness, while the cognition in the second moment is that of the mental consciousness. After the second moment, both engage in cognition simultaneously. The mental consciousness cognizes the subtle object of taste, discerning the specific qualities such as sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty, bland, and their degrees of intensity. If the taste is too strong and one finds it unpalatable, one may spit out the food or drink; this is the result of the mental consciousness’s direct perception. Of course, within this process, there can also be inferential cognition and non-valid cognition. Cognition based on memory is inferential cognition, while imagining the taste as being like some other food or drink constitutes non-valid cognition. If one's knowledge regarding the object of taste is limited, one must resort to inferential or non-valid cognition, the results of which are often erroneous. Even direct perception can sometimes be mistaken; it is not necessarily always entirely correct. When the mental consciousness engages in inferential or non-valid cognition, it is operating in its solitary realm (without the support of the five sense consciousnesses), as the first five consciousnesses do not participate in this type of cognition.