Does the knowledge of the abiding of dharmas (dharma-sthiti-jñāna) know the past and the future — is this valid direct cognition, inference, or mistaken perception/non-valid cognition?

With knowledge of the abiding of dharma, one can attain liberation. Therefore, knowledge of the abiding of dharma is the wisdom of directly realizing the twelve links of dependent arising through valid direct cognition. Even when one can know the past and the future, it is still known through direct perception, not through inference. The wisdom known through inference is very shallow; wisdom that must rely on some dharma in order to know is unreliable and not ultimate. Once the dharma it relies upon does not appear, inferential knowledge disappears. Within inferential knowledge, there is no process of the manas personally investigating, so the manas cannot realize it firsthand, and the mind consciousness also cannot know independently. In reasoning, part belongs to inference and part belongs to erroneous cognition; even if the reasoning is correct, it is still not direct perception, because the manas does not know. As for the knowing of the manas, if it knows, it knows; if it does not know, it does not know—the dividing line appears extremely quickly, manifesting in the very moment, without requiring the mind consciousness to slowly deliberate and investigate.

Some people say: since one cannot see the past and the future, and the dharmas of the past and future cannot be made present, knowledge of the dharmas of the past and future should be inferential knowledge. Such a statement is incorrect. What is called "being present" does not necessarily have to appear before one's eyes. Wisdom is not initiated by the eye consciousness; it is initiated jointly by the mind consciousness and the manas. The mind consciousness and the manas can fully realize and verify the dharmas of the past and future. In particular, the manas is not obstructed by time and space at all; following the tathāgatagarbha, it can know all dharmas. The dharmas of past lives can be recalled the moment one intends to recall them, and the dharmas of future lives can be known the moment one intends to know them. Dreams and meditative states demonstrate this point. Therefore, it cannot be said that what the manas does not know is direct-perception wisdom. When the mind consciousness knows through direct perception, the manas does not necessarily know through direct perception, and the knowing of the mind consciousness will be overlooked and nullified according to different conditions.