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The mind consciousness is one of the most capable assistants in the practice and realization of the Buddha-dharma; it is used to come into contact with the Buddha-dharma, to contemplate the Buddha-dharma, and to attain correct knowledge and views, and then to perfume the manas, and finally to achieve realization. The functions and activities of the mind consciousness can be observed by ordinary people; it has many characteristics, and its overall characteristic is that it is subject to arising, ceasing, change, and impermanence. However, many Buddhist practitioners mistake a certain aspect of the mind consciousness for the function of the non-arising and non-ceasing eighth consciousness, and in this way they fail to distinguish the true from the false, and are prone to erroneous enlightenment. This book expounds the types of the mind consciousness, its functions, the principles of its arising, its process of arising, ceasing, and changing, and so forth, fully demonstrating that there is a great difference in nature between the mind consciousness and the eighth consciousness, so that it becomes easy to recognize the distinction between the two, to no longer take the mind consciousness as the true, and thereby to embark on the correct path of investigating Chan, without wasting the merit of a lifetime of practice. Ordinary beings all take the mind consciousness as their own true spiritual knowing nature; because the obstructions within their minds are heavy, they do not see the substantial function of the true mind, the eighth consciousness. If one can clearly recognize the intermittent arising-and-ceasing nature of the mind consciousness, one can quickly eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and resolve the problem of birth and death; therefore, understanding the nature of the mind consciousness is extremely important.
