Why Can One See in Six Directions and Hear in Eight Directions?

When the mind consciousness is in a waking state, it discerns among the many mental sense-objects (dharma-objects) of the six dusts, and the flowing forth of the mind-consciousness seeds is rather dispersed, yet there is still one dominant direction. To make the flow completely concentrate on a single dharma-object is impossible unless one has undergone training, such as cultivating meditative concentration (samādhi) and gaining the power of concentration; the deeper the power of concentration, the more focused the flow can be. That is why the Buddha taught us to cultivate meditative concentration first and then engage in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and Chan investigation; only in this way can results be achieved. But for ordinary people, it is also impossible to distribute the mind-consciousness seeds evenly across two or more dharma-objects; there is always a primary and a secondary one. If one needs to discern several dharma-objects simultaneously, the attention of the mind consciousness must keep jumping among the different dharma-objects. For example, when we walk on a road crowded with vehicles and people, the mind consciousness must constantly discern the material dharma-object, the sound dharma-object, and the tactile dharma-object; consciousness seeds must flow simultaneously to all three dharma-objects, but there is still a distinction between primary and secondary, and this primary-secondary relationship keeps switching as external conditions change.

The above description is correct for ordinary people, that is, for those without meditative concentration or with little of it, and who have not undergone special training. For those who have trained and possess good power of concentration, even when discerning multiple objects simultaneously, they still have the power of concentration and can discern everything clearly—this is what is meant by "eyes observing the six directions and ears listening to the eight quarters." A person with good power of concentration can handle several tasks at the same time without any problem, doing all of them well, able to concentrate energy highly on several matters and manage them all excellently. Such is the case when the conscious mind is well trained and both concentration and wisdom are very strong.