The Profound Yogācāra Meaning of the Diamond Sutra (Part 19)

The Buddha stated that Bodhisattva Mahasattvas should subdue their minds in this manner. However, the mind that can be subdued must be the delusive mind. The true mind has never given rise to thoughts; it possesses no knowledge, views, or ideas. It does not cling to the objects of the three realms or the six dusts, nor does it create actions of body, speech, or mind. It is pure and free from afflictions; therefore, there is no need to subdue it. In contrast, the delusive mind—comprising the visual consciousness, auditory consciousness, olfactory consciousness, gustatory consciousness, tactile consciousness, mental consciousness, and the mental faculty—constantly clings to the myriad phenomena of the six dusts. It gives rise to thoughts and impulses, harboring immeasurable knowledge, views, opinions, and perspectives. The views and attachments to self and phenomena are intensely fervent, while actions of body, speech, and mind correspond with greed, hatred, and delusion. Thus, it must be subdued to eradicate ignorance and give rise to the virtuous function of wisdom.

To subdue the delusive mind of the seven consciousnesses, one must understand their functions and roles. The visual consciousness perceives form, discerning colors such as blue, yellow, red, and white, as well as attributes like length, shortness, squareness, roundness, largeness, and smallness. Simultaneously, the mental consciousness discerns subtle characteristics—good or bad, beautiful or ugly, charm, temperament, and so forth. Within this process, feelings of pleasure, displeasure, or neutrality arise, such as liking or aversion, leading to the emergence of actions of body, speech, and mind. The auditory consciousness hears sounds, discerning their pitch, distance, direction, and so on, while the mental consciousness simultaneously categorizes their types and meanings. This gives rise to mental activities such as craving or aversion, producing feelings of pleasure, displeasure, or neutrality, which in turn lead to the emergence of actions of body, speech, and mind. The olfactory consciousness smells scents, distinguishing between fragrant and foul odors as well as their directions, while the mental consciousness simultaneously discerns the categories and intensities of these scents. This engenders mental activities of liking or aversion, producing feelings of pleasure, displeasure, or neutrality, which then lead to the emergence of actions of body, speech, and mind.