Is Reflective Awareness the Simultaneously Arising Consciousness or the Independent Consciousness?

The power of introspection, which is the self-witnessing portion, refers to the self-cognizing of one’s own mind and mental factors. At this point, the mind-consciousness and mental factors themselves become the image portion. This image portion is unrelated to the five sense objects and belongs to the exclusive shadow realm; thus, it is also unrelated to the five-concomitant consciousness and corresponds solely to the image portion cognized by the independent consciousness. Therefore, the introspective power endowed with the self-witnessing portion belongs to the independent consciousness, not the five-concomitant consciousness. The key to distinguishing between these two types of consciousness lies in whether the corresponding mental objects are associated with the five sense objects. Mental objects unassociated with the five sense objects belong to the exclusive shadow realm and can only be cognized by the independent consciousness.

When the five-concomitant consciousness arises, the independent consciousness may also emerge simultaneously. Both types of consciousness can coexist. For instance, when seeing a flower, thoughts, recollections, or imaginations about the flower belong to the independent consciousness. The five-concomitant consciousness is solely responsible for jointly cognizing the flower before the eyes alongside the five sense-consciousnesses. Flowers from the past or future can only be cognized by the independent consciousness, where “past and future” includes moments both before and after the present—in short, anything beyond the immediate present. For example, when seeing a person across the way, reflections or thoughts about that person belong to the independent consciousness. The five-concomitant consciousness lacks conceptual thought; it cannot recollect the past or anticipate the future. The mental objects it cognizes never depart from the realm of the five sense objects.

Dedication Verse:

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May favorable weather bless the land, and may nations prosper in tranquility!

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May they widely cultivate wholesome connections and engage in virtuous deeds;

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May they understand suffering, abandon its origins, aspire to cessation, and cultivate the path;

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May Buddhism flourish eternally, and the true Dharma abide forever;

May the burning house of the three realms be transformed into the Lotus Land of Ultimate Bliss!