The Three Measures of the Seven Consciousnesses

The discernment of the six sense objects (ṣaḍ-viṣaya) by the seven consciousnesses is divided into three types of valid cognition: direct perception (pratyakṣa), inference (anumāna), and non-valid cognition (anīyata).

Direct perception is the discernment of what is present, currently existing, actively operating, actually existing, real, and actual dharma—not something virtual, not false dharma.

Inference is discernment through comparing two or more dharmas with each other; the determination of matters and principles necessarily requires a reference point, otherwise one cannot distinguish. It can be seen that in inferential discernment wisdom is insufficient, and it does not require great wisdom. Direct perception, however, has no reference point; it relies entirely on wisdom to discern the present moment.

Non-valid cognition is the discernment of what is not presently existing, not currently present, not truly existent—imagined, fabricated, fantasized, virtual dharma, false dharma, not directly connected, not personally realized, illusorily existent dharma. This kind of discernment has two extremes: one is the wisdom-type with rich imagination, and the other is the boundless, purely deluded type, which fails to manifest the wisdom of direct perception.

The five sense consciousnesses all discern by direct perception; what they discern is all presently existing, truly existent dharma, not fabricated. The five consciousnesses cannot imagine, nor can they infer; whatever the present dharma is like, that is what they discern—they cannot fantasize. However, the five consciousnesses can also err in discernment, such as misperceiving colors in material form—seeing red as green, or mistaking a male voice for a female voice. These are all non-valid cognition, and this only happens when the five faculties, such as the eye faculty, malfunction.

The mind consciousness can discern through direct perception, inference, and non-valid cognition; its range of discernment is broad, and it can discern both virtual and false dharmas, capable of imagination, fantasy, and comparative deliberation. The discernment of the manas is relatively deep, subtle, and hard to know; the manas's wisdom in discerning the six sense objects is indeed not sufficiently detailed. It cannot compare two dharmas against each other in its discernment, and therefore has no inference. The manas cannot imagine, cannot fantasize, cannot make groundless guesses; it cannot perform these kinds of non-valid cognition.

Although the manas has only direct perception, discerning only dharmas that currently exist and are truly existent, it always misperceives these present, real dharmas, taking all dharmas as self and what belongs to self, when in fact none of them are. Since its cognition is erroneous and unreal, it is also a kind of non-valid cognition to some degree—self-assumed, unreal, inconsistent with facts, a state of deluded thinking; deluded thinking is non-valid cognition. Direct perception accords with facts, accords with reality, accords with truth. Therefore, only the eighth consciousness performs true discernment by direct perception, without a trace of inference or non-valid cognition; what it discerns is the true appearance of all dharmas—not the realm of the six sense objects, not the worldly realm. Whatever the manas thinks is not truth, so during the cultivation over three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas, it must gradually be led to recognize truth and realize truth, transforming its deluded thinking into the wisdom of direct perception, removing its grasping at the unreal, returning all dharmas to their true master, and not possessing any dharma—then the manas's transformation is complete. From then on, all burdens are eliminated, and one is thoroughly liberated from the bondage of all dharmas, ascending to the Buddha's throne. At that point, the mind consciousness's mission is over; there is no need to learn any further dharma, no need to further perfume the manas.

Since the manas cannot perform non-valid cognition, how then does the mind consciousness's non-valid cognition arise and continue? After the manas decides on some matter, the mind consciousness carries it out concretely, and in carrying it out it adopts the form of non-valid cognition; the manas then takes the content of the mind consciousness's discernment as direct perception and deliberates and makes decisions on it. For example, visualizing the Buddha's light shining upon one's own material body is non-valid cognition; after the visualization succeeds, the material body truly becomes healthy and changed, and it becomes direct perception. If one truly visualizes the Buddha's light appearing, and the Buddha truly emits light shining upon oneself, then visualizing the Buddha's light is direct perception, and the health of the material body is also direct perception. The visualization is decided by the manas and executed by the mind consciousness. During the visualization, it is the mind consciousness's subjective imagination; when meditative concentration is deep, wherever the mind consciousness visualizes, the manas discerns along with it. The manas takes the content of the mind consciousness's visualization as a presently present realm and discerns it, which belongs to direct-perception discernment; the mind consciousness's visualization is non-valid deliberation and imagination, and when its results manifest before one as they truly are, it is all direct perception.