The Third Barrier of Zen

When there is no dreaming, the six consciousnesses cease, leaving only the manas and the eighth consciousness. When there is no thought, the six consciousnesses also cease, with only the manas and the eighth consciousness operating together. Consciousness remains unaware and unknowing, and even if consciousness exists, it lacks profound wisdom to comprehend how the manas and the eighth consciousness truly operate in unison.

After attaining enlightenment, to pass the third barrier of the Chan school—the prison gate of life and death—and achieve liberation with the ability to transcend the three realms, consciousness must possess great wisdom. It must directly and truthfully observe the cooperative functioning of the manas and the eighth consciousness, thereby breaking through the prison gate of life and death. This requires investigating the third barrier’s kōan after attaining the first dhyāna and practicing Yangyan contemplation. During this investigation, consciousness must still collaborate with the manas, and of course, the eighth consciousness must also participate; otherwise, both the sixth and seventh consciousnesses would cease and become non-functional.

Why, then, does investigating the true nature of the eighth consciousness’s operation with the manas during dreamless and thoughtless states break through the prison gate and lead to liberation? If, upon reaching the third barrier of the Chan school, one has not yet realized the manas and cannot even roughly observe its functioning, it becomes impossible to investigate the third barrier’s kōan. Consequently, one cannot break through the prison gate, transcend the cycle of birth and death, or attain liberation. At this stage, the self-verifying aspect of the manas inevitably grows stronger. When the manas gains self-awareness, it will inevitably abandon attachments: it neither clings to the five aggregates and the six consciousnesses nor to itself or the eighth consciousness. If it clings to the eighth consciousness, one cannot transcend the three realms or attain liberation.

The more profound the Dharma realized by the manas, the greater the merit of liberation. If even the subtlest Dharma is fully realized in its true nature, all subtle attachments to dharmas can be severed, leading to great and ultimate liberation—the attainment of Buddhahood—after which no further practice is needed. Therefore, we must be clear about what is truly essential in our practice and avoid confusion.

Hinayana practitioners, having not realized the eighth consciousness, naturally do not cling to it and thus need not pass the third barrier of the Chan school—indeed, they need not pass any barrier at all. By fully realizing the selflessness of the five aggregates, they can sever self-attachment, attain liberation, and transcend the three realms. Some may insist that the manas of ordinary sentient beings cling to the eighth consciousness as a self. Consider how grave this misunderstanding is: if the manas of ordinary beings knew of the eighth consciousness, would they still be ordinary sentient beings? Without knowing the eighth consciousness, how could they cling to it? The Buddha, in fact, wishes that all ordinary beings would cling to the eighth consciousness, for then they would not cling to the five aggregates and would be free from segmented birth and death.