Is Consciousness Awareness?

The mind consciousness has the function of awareness and cognition, but it cannot be directly called the nature of awakening (bodhi-nature). Because the nature of awakening represents the awakened mind-nature, generally referring to the non-ignorant nature of the fundamental eighth consciousness (tathāgatagarbha), and sometimes also referring to the sixth and seventh consciousnesses that possess great wisdom after awakening; when there is no wisdom and no awakening, it cannot be called the nature of awakening. One may say that the mind consciousness has the nature of knowing, being able to know the various realms of mental sense-objects (dharma-viṣaya).