Non-Engagement with the Six Ayatanas Does Not Equal Non-Discrimination of the Six Ayatanas

In the Vimalakīrti Sūtra, the Buddha speaks of the eighth consciousness, the Bodhi mind, which does not apprehend the entrances. That which does not apprehend is Bodhi. Does "not apprehending the six entrances" mean not discriminating the six entrances? To whom did the Fifth Patriarch transmit the robe and bowl? It was attained by one who does not apprehend the Dharma. What does this "not apprehending" mean? It does not mean being ignorant or unaware of the specific connotations of the Dharma; this refers to the eighth consciousness, the Bodhi mind.

The six entrances include the eye entrance, ear entrance, nose entrance, tongue entrance, body entrance, and mind entrance. This encompasses the external six entrances: form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas (objects of mind); and the internal six entrances: the eye superior sense base, ear superior sense base, nose superior sense base, tongue superior sense base, body superior sense base, and mind base. The six consciousnesses born dependent on the external six entrances and the internal six entrances both know and understand the six sense bases and also know and understand the six sense objects. However, the eighth consciousness, the Bodhi mind, does not know the six sense bases nor does it understand what the six sense bases are; it does not know the six sense objects nor does it understand what the six sense objects are.

Question: Does not knowing and not understanding the six sense bases and six sense objects mean not discerning and not discriminating the six sense bases and six sense objects?

The eighth consciousness is without ignorance; it can perceive all dharmas. By attending to, contacting, feeling, perceiving, and cognizing all dharmas, it can know all dharmas as they truly are and understand all dharmas. If the eighth consciousness did not know and did not understand all dharmas, did not know and did not understand the six sense bases and six sense objects, how then could it grasp, hold, transform, and alter the six sense bases and six sense objects every moment, every instant, constantly? The eighth consciousness also feels, perceives, and cognizes the six sense bases and six sense objects; it makes choices and has subsequent actions. It necessarily knows and understands the six sense bases and six sense objects, which is why it necessarily knows how to act. It is only that the eighth consciousness does not know the conventional appearances (dharmic characteristics) of the six sense bases and six sense objects; it does not know their conventional connotations—these are the connotations known by the seventh consciousness. What does the eighth consciousness know? Without profound consciousness-only wisdom (vijñapti-mātra) and knowledge of seeds (bīja-jñāna), one cannot observe the knowing of the eighth consciousness; then one must ask the eighth consciousness itself. The eighth consciousness is without ignorance; it discriminates all dharmas clearly and distinctly, without the slightest confusion, unlike the seventh consciousness which often discriminates unclearly, leading to confused choices, confused actions, and confused karmic results.