What Does the Knowledge of Direct Perception Refer To?

Knowledge by direct perception is an intuitive presentation; the moment a dharma appears, it is known immediately, very swiftly, known without deliberation, and not known only after being expressed through language and thought. For example, the Heart Sutra says: 观自在菩萨，行深般若波罗蜜多时，照见五蕴皆空。 Here, "illuminated seeing" (照见) is knowledge by direct perception. If one only uses the mind consciousness to see that the five aggregates are empty, then it is not knowing the emptiness of the five aggregates instantly and immediately, but rather knowing it after the mind consciousness has deliberated and analyzed — and that would not be "illuminated seeing." The term "illuminated seeing" means present-moment direct perception; without logical deliberation, analysis, or organization, whatever is present in that moment is just what it is. This is the knowing of the manas, the realization by the manas.

The Mahābrahmā Deva Rāja Asks the Buddha to Resolve His Doubts Sūtra says: 诸佛密意者，以言辞而不可测度。何以故？是法非思量、非思量分能解，即是唯佛与佛究尽法。 This means that the supreme and profound Buddhadharma cannot be fathomed through the initial application and sustained examination (vitarka-vicāra) and deliberation of the mind consciousness, because the Buddhadharma cannot be understood by the mind consciousness's deliberation (manasikāra); it is the dharma that only a Buddha together with a Buddha can exhaustively comprehend. Whenever there is true knowing by direct perception, there is no language and no deliberation; it is known very directly and very swiftly, with no intermediate process. Without enduring a bone-chilling cold, merely using the mind consciousness to give a superficial and crude interpretation, one cannot obtain the Buddhadharma. Therefore, the final realization of the Buddhadharma must be a realization made clear by the manas — a knowing by direct perception.

The Chan patriarchs often said: "If you are to know, know at once; if you are to understand, understand at once. What is there to deliberate? Deliberation misses the mark." In the past, when Chan masters tested their disciples' wisdom to see whether they had seen the Path, they never allowed the disciples to deliberate further, never allowed them to mull things over. For example, when the Fifth Patriarch tested Master Shenxiu by asking him to compose a verse showing he had seen the Path, Shenxiu paced back and forth in his room.

So many people take the mind consciousness as paramount, taking the discrimination and analysis of the mind consciousness as the method of practice and realization of the Buddhadharma. It appears this indeed goes against the intent of the Buddha and the patriarchs, goes against direct perception, and goes against the truth.