Chapter Twelve   The Self-Witnessing Part and the Witnessing Self-Witnessing Part of the Six Consciousnesses

1. When consciousness knows its present state, this is introspection, the function of the witnessing self-witnessing part. When it does not know its present state, it indicates that consciousness’s introspective power is weak, the mind is coarse, wisdom is inferior, and there is no concentration. Many people do not know they have afflictions when afflictions manifest; when they are ignorant, they do not know they are ignorant. Such a conscious mind is fundamentally unawakened, lacking introspective power and possessing very poor wisdom. To be constantly self-knowing, perpetually self-aware—this is the witnessing self-witnessing part of consciousness. Knowing is the self-witnessing part; self-knowing, knowing oneself, is the witnessing self-witnessing part. The witnessing self-witnessing part contains two knowings; the self-witnessing part contains one knowing.

Consciousness knowing its own state, being able to understand and recognize itself, is the witnessing self-witnessing part, also called self-awareness, which is self-knowing, or the knowing of knowing. It is rare for people to have self-knowledge. The witnessing self-witnessing part is clarity, it is wisdom. Such people possess rationality and concentration and are easily guided.

The so-called self-witnessing part is the direct knowing of the seen part, the realization of the seen part, the knowing of the seen part. There is a knowing; whatever it knows, it is the self-witnessing part. When the seen part arises, it is knowing that the seen part exists. This knowing is the seeing part. With the seeing part and the seen part, the knowing is the self-witnessing part. For example: looking is the seeing part, as there is no result yet, whereas seeing is the self-witnessing part, within which are the seeing part and the seen part. Listening is the seeing part, with no result yet; hearing is the self-witnessing part, containing the seeing part and the seen part. By analogy, that which involves a result is the self-witnessing part; that without a result is the seeing part. Introspecting oneself, monitoring all one’s actions and creations, is the witnessing self-witnessing part. A mind with alertness is the manifestation of the witnessing self-witnessing part; without alertness, the witnessing self-witnessing part may not necessarily be present.

The witnessing self-witnessing part of eye-consciousness: for instance, when eye-consciousness sees sunlight and feels it is too bright, too glaring, the eye-consciousness immediately closes the eyes and does not look. After a while, due to the mental faculty’s craving for the sun or some other reason, it decides to look at the sunlight. The eye-consciousness then reluctantly, slowly opens its eyes. Why is this? The seeing part, seen part, and self-witnessing part of eye-consciousness have already appeared. Which is the witnessing self-witnessing part? How will it develop subsequently? The eye-consciousness reluctantly looks at the sunlight again, slowly opening its eyes, indicating that the eye-consciousness knows the sunlight is glaring. It may not have recovered yet and is unwilling to open its eyes to look. The eye-consciousness knowing the unpleasant feeling from previously looking at the sunlight is the witnessing self-witnessing part. Because of the unpleasant feeling, the eye-consciousness is unwilling to look at the sun again, but it must obey the command of the mental faculty, so it slowly opens its eyes.

Of course, during the process of looking at the sun, there is also the witnessing self-witnessing part of consciousness. The witnessing self-witnessing part of eye-consciousness cannot be separated from consciousness; otherwise, the five consciousnesses cannot arise. If consciousness does not know its own feelings, it lacks the witnessing self-witnessing part. If consciousness can discern its own feelings, consciousness then possesses the witnessing self-witnessing part. Eye-consciousness knowing its own feelings is the witnessing self-witnessing part of eye-consciousness; consciousness at this time may not necessarily have the witnessing self-witnessing part. The key lies in how eye-consciousness distinguishes and discerns its own feelings, which depends on whether consciousness has wisdom.

The unpleasant feeling of eye-consciousness is generally known by both eye-consciousness and consciousness; consciousness can know the discomfort of eye-consciousness. However, the unpleasant feeling of consciousness is known only by consciousness; eye-consciousness cannot know it. The knowing and feeling of the five consciousnesses and the sixth consciousness are also distinct. For example, feeling pain: the pain felt by body-consciousness is the physical pain of the body itself, while the pain felt by consciousness is an internal feeling of unpleasantness. Sometimes body-consciousness feels intense pain, but consciousness does not feel distressed; some people even feel happy, as in the case of studying diligently with head hung from beam and legs pricked by awl, or in the case of masochists.

2. The essential function of the six consciousnesses is discernment and discrimination. So-called discernment and discrimination is knowing. Wherever there is knowing, the six consciousnesses exist. This knowing sometimes feels very obvious; we can perceive it ourselves. Sometimes the feeling is not very obvious; we do not know we are knowing. When we know there is a knowing within the mind, that is the witnessing self-witnessing part of consciousness. This knowing sometimes involves inner voices, words, and language; sometimes there are no inner voices, no language, no words.

This knowing sometimes has thoughts, sometimes no thoughts. Regardless of whether there are thoughts, it is the knowing of consciousness. Knowing without thoughts occurs only under conditions of some concentration or other special circumstances, such as when startled, extremely joyful, sorrowful, or in meditative absorption. At such times, the mind is not completely unaware. As long as there is a knowing that recognizes the absence of thoughts, that knows the mind is calm, this knowing is the self-knowing of the conscious mind.

If one can still clearly know the objects of the five dusts, then there is the knowing of the five consciousnesses. Of course, this does not depart from the knowing of the eighth consciousness and the seventh consciousness. When the conscious mind can introspect itself, observe that it has knowing or knows something, knows its own psychological state—this is the witnessing self-witnessing part of consciousness. When our wisdom is insufficient and concentration is also insufficient, this introspective ability is very weak. We cannot fully and truly know our own mental state, nor can we detect our afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion. Therefore, the obstructions of afflictive nature cannot be actively subdued, and spiritual practice becomes very difficult to advance.

3. Human thought is the concepts and views formed by the conscious mind through mental activities such as discrimination, analysis, judgment, thinking, reasoning, comparison, etc. The nature of the conscious mind has coarse and subtle aspects. When subtle, it is very difficult for us to detect. Often, the conscious mind functions moment by moment, knowing constantly. Only when consciousness has ceased does it not function and lack the nature of discernment. At all other times, as long as consciousness exists, it is discriminating the objects of mental consciousness (dharma dust), but we ourselves cannot introspectively perceive it. Why can we not introspect it? Because wisdom is insufficient and concentration is also not yet complete.

When unable to introspectively perceive consciousness discriminating the dharma dust, some people claim they have reached a state of no-mind, or that they are thoughtless; others say they have realized the true mind without false thoughts or thoughts. But this is a great misunderstanding. This is a clear case of failing to distinguish the true from the false; they have fundamentally misunderstood the Heart Sutra. The Heart Sutra states that the true mind neither arises nor ceases, yet they mistake the state where consciousness changes from having false thoughts to being without false thoughts for the true mind. This so-called true mind is actually the arising-and-ceasing dharma: when there are false thoughts, the true mind does not exist; when there are no false thoughts, the true mind appears again. This is completely not the true mind spoken of by the Buddha.

4. When the mind does not follow changes and abides nowhere, this is consciousness possessing concentration, abiding in non-attachment to dharmas. Consciousness can discern the dharma dust of the meditative state, knowing that it does not follow the state, knowing that it does not cling to forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, or dharmas. This knowing is the knowing of consciousness; this is the introspective nature of consciousness, the manifestation of consciousness’s witnessing self-witnessing part. Knowing that one’s mind already abides nowhere—this knowing must be the conscious mind. The state of abiding nowhere is an object of the dharma dust; this state corresponds to the mental faculty and consciousness; it is the content discerned by consciousness. It does not correspond to the eighth consciousness, yet it does not exist apart from the eighth consciousness.

The true mind that abides nowhere, that does not dwell in the six dusts, is the eighth consciousness. Because the eighth consciousness does not interact with the six dusts, does not dwell in them, and does not discern what they are. As long as the seven consciousnesses exist, they necessarily interact with the six dusts, must discern the six dusts, and are certainly dwelling within the six dusts. Even if the conscious mind is extremely subtle, it can still know the dharma dust of the meditative state. Therefore, wherever there is knowing, there is the conscious mind. Ordinary people can only correspond to consciousness; they cannot correspond to the eighth consciousness because they lack the various Bodhisattva conditions such as merit, meditative concentration, and prajñā wisdom. Therefore, they cannot locate the eighth consciousness, nor can they observe the non-abiding operational state of the eighth consciousness.

5. The Important Role of Conscious Thought and Observation

From the phenomena of obscuration by rebirth, drunkenness, sleepwalking, and hypnosis, how significant is the role of consciousness? When discussing the nature of the mental faculty, some attribute everything to the mental faculty and overlook consciousness. Now we must contemplate the role of consciousness; this is a crucial link in severing the view of self.

The approach to this issue should be as follows: Contemplate and analyze the various phenomena of obscuration by rebirth, identifying what phenomena exist. Then, from these phenomena, observe the functions of consciousness, its characteristics, and its importance. This is called the introspection of consciousness, also known as the witnessing self-witnessing part.

Next, contemplate and analyze the phenomena after drunkenness, observing from these phenomena the function, characteristics, and importance of consciousness. Contemplate and analyze sleepwalking and the phenomena upon waking, observing from these phenomena the functional characteristics of consciousness and its importance for comprehending the six dusts. Contemplate and analyze hypnosis and the phenomena occurring after hypnosis, observing within these phenomena the functional characteristics of consciousness and the importance of consciousness for discriminating the six dusts.

The above approach is teaching one how to fish, not merely giving one a fish. Mastering the essentials of fishing, knowing how to use it, enables self-reliance in the future.

One must learn to observe, to seek out and analyze phenomena. Observational power is extremely important; this relies primarily on the wisdom of consciousness, but it also involves the wisdom of the mental faculty. Only when the wisdom of consciousness is first complete can the mental faculty then elevate and complete its wisdom. The wisdom of consciousness comes first; the wisdom of the mental faculty comes afterward. When the mental faculty possesses complete wisdom, in future lives, the wisdom of the mental faculty comes first, and the wisdom of consciousness comes afterward. Then consciousness, by analogy, gives rise to other wisdoms, which in turn influence the mental faculty, enabling it to also possess other wisdoms. Life after life, step by step, bit by bit, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses are transformed, finally turning consciousness into wisdom.

Many people lack even the wisdom of consciousness. Countless facts and truths lie before them, yet they remain oblivious, unperceiving and unknowing, extremely foolish. They cannot comprehend obvious and clear phenomena, cannot make sense of them, and even after being told repeatedly, still fail to grasp the meaning. If there is no capacity for conscious thought, no ability to observe and analyze, then there can be no talk of possessing wisdom, let alone influencing the mental faculty through habitual permeation to likewise possess wisdom. Without breaking through ignorance and delusion, there is no hope whatsoever for liberation.

6. Question: When calming the mind and carefully contemplating, one can clearly experience the existence of a clear and lucid "I". What is that "I"? And what is the knowing that knows that "I"?

Answer: Experiencing a clear and lucid "I"—this "I" is most easily observed and experienced as the various functional activities of consciousness, such as this "I" experiencing, observing, analyzing, thinking, judging, feeling, perceiving, deciding, ideating, reasoning, seeking, and so forth—these functional activities of the feeling aggregate, perception aggregate, formation aggregate, and consciousness aggregate. The knowing that knows these various functional activities of this "I" is the knowing of consciousness’s introspective function; it is the witnessing self-witnessing part of the conscious mind.

Within the operation of all these dharmas, within the various knowings of consciousness, there is always the knowing of the mental faculty and the knowing of the eighth consciousness; there are always the functional activities of the mental faculty and the eighth consciousness. When consciousness knows, the knowing of the mental faculty necessarily accompanies it, and the knowing of the eighth consciousness also necessarily accompanies it. Without the knowing of the mental faculty, consciousness must cease to exist and cannot arise. Without the knowing of the eighth consciousness, the knowing of consciousness also necessarily cannot exist, cannot arise, and must cease and disappear.

7. Question: While reciting the Buddha's name in daily practice, besides knowing the Buddha's name, there is also a knowing that knows the reciting. What is that knowing? When contemplating what the Buddha meant by "sound" and "hearing," one can clearly experience what the "hearing" that is able to hear is. Yet there is also a "knowing" that knows this "hearing." What is this "knowing"?

Answer: Knowing the Buddha's name and the sound of reciting is the knowing of the conscious mind, and also the knowing of ear-consciousness. Reciting the Buddha's name is the conscious mind reciting. The knowing that knows one is reciting is still the knowing of consciousness; it is the introspective function of consciousness, the functional activity of consciousness’s witnessing self-witnessing part. The hearing that is able to hear sounds is primarily the hearing nature of consciousness, assisted by the hearing nature of ear-consciousness. The knowing that knows the hearing of sounds is the knowing of consciousness; it is the introspective function of consciousness, the functional activity of consciousness’s witnessing self-witnessing part.

Of course, when hearing sounds, there are four conscious minds, not just consciousness and ear-consciousness; there are also the seventh consciousness and the eighth consciousness. All hearing nature is primarily of the eighth consciousness, but superficially, it is all the hearing of consciousness and ear-consciousness. The hearing nature of the eighth consciousness is extremely subtle and difficult to know; the hearing nature of the mental faculty (seventh consciousness) is similarly subtle and difficult to know. Ordinary people cannot observe these two types of hearing nature; they can more easily observe the hearing nature of consciousness.