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Consciousness is a most potent assistant in the practice and realization of the Dharma. It is used to access the Dharma, contemplate the Dharma, attain correct knowledge and insight, thereby permeating the mental faculty, and ultimately leading to genuine realization. The functions of consciousness are observable to most people, and it possesses many characteristics, the most fundamental being its nature of arising, ceasing, changing, and impermanence. However, many Buddhists mistake certain attributes of consciousness for the functions of the indestructible eighth consciousness, thus failing to distinguish the real from the illusory and often leading to erroneous awakening. This book elucidates the types of consciousness, their functions, the principles of their arising, the processes of their birth, cessation, and transformation, and so forth. It fully demonstrates the profound differences between the essential natures of consciousness and the eighth consciousness. This facilitates a clear recognition of the distinction between the two, preventing the misidentification of consciousness as the true self, thereby guiding one onto the correct path of Chan (Zen) practice and ensuring that the efforts of a lifetime of cultivation are not in vain. Ordinary beings invariably regard consciousness as their true, knowing essence. Due to heavy inner obscurations, they fail to perceive the substantive functions of the true mind, the eighth consciousness. If one can clearly recognize the intermittent, arising-and-ceasing nature of consciousness, one can swiftly eradicate the view of self and resolve the problem of birth and death. Therefore, understanding the essential nature of consciousness is crucially important.
