Only when the mind of the seventh consciousness is freed from the defilement of ignorance can it possess the nature of great wisdom

Some people say that when consciousness does not discriminate, that is purity. This view is clearly incorrect. Purity means that the mind consciousness, while discriminating all dharmas and engaging in bodily, verbal, and mental actions, is pure and undefiled; it means that when the mind consciousness discriminates, it carries no afflictions of greed, hatred, or delusion, and carries no ignorance—only such a mind is pure. If the mind consciousness did not discriminate at all, people could not survive and live normally. When there is ignorance, the mind consciousness cannot be pure; it will discriminate in an inverted way, or discriminate unclearly, lacking the nature of wisdom. It cannot correctly comprehend dharmas, and many dharmas become difficult to observe—seeing nothing clearly and thinking nothing through.

If the mind of the seven consciousnesses is to possess discriminating power of great wisdom, it must remove defilement and remove ignorance. When ignorance is completely eliminated, the discriminating power of wisdom reaches perfection, and one can perfectly comprehend all dharmas. If the mind of the seven consciousnesses has no ignorance, it is no longer inverted and can perfectly and lucidly comprehend all dharmas. A mind that perfectly comprehends all dharmas is a mind with wisdom, and a mind with wisdom is untainted. Having neither the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion nor ignorance is called being untainted; having afflictions and ignorance is being tainted. The less ignorance the mind consciousness has, the more it can discern the true and actual reality when discriminating all dharmas, and the clearer and more thorough its discrimination becomes. When there is ignorance and taint, the mind consciousness's discrimination is incomplete and not thorough, and there are obstructions. The greater the obstructions, the narrower the mind's capacity, the narrower the scope of cognition, the shallower the depth of cognition, and the more insufficient the nature of wisdom. When the mind consciousness is cultivated to the point of being untainted, its wisdom becomes vast—indeed it can become boundless and immeasurable—able to observe truths that could not be observed before, able to observe all human affairs, people, things, and principles thoroughly and completely, lucidly and clearly, penetrating into the most ultimate reality and truth.