The Concepts of Pratyakṣa and Apramāṇa

Direct perception (Pratyakṣa) refers to immediate, present, actual, real, and truthful principles and realities that accord with the Dharma. "Direct" signifies the present, current, actual, real, and accordant state, while "perception" signifies measurement, estimation, and evaluation. Direct perception is the estimation, measurement, and evaluation of the object of cognition that aligns with facts and truth. Upon seeing the Dharma, it is immediately perceived and known; judgment arises without the need for mental fabrication, imagination, comparison, or deliberate processing.

Incorrect perception (Apratyakṣa), in contrast to direct perception, is not within the realm of one's own wisdom. It cannot correctly cognize in accordance with truth and principle, leading to errors in discernment. It requires mental activities such as thinking, analysis, imagination, fantasy, recollection, and so forth to arrive at knowledge. Another meaning of incorrect perception is erroneous estimation, consideration, weighing, or measurement, resulting in conclusions that are wrong and do not align with reality.

In reality, only the eighth consciousness and the seven consciousnesses after attaining Buddhahood cognize everything in accordance with facts. Before attaining Buddhahood, due to the presence of ignorance, the seven consciousnesses possess varying degrees of incorrect perception. The closer one is to the Buddha's wisdom, the less incorrect perception there is and the more direct perception manifests. The more ordinary a being is, the more incorrect perception they have, with little or no direct perception. Even when seeing mountains and rivers as mountains and rivers before one's eyes, it is not direct perception but still incorrect perception, because one sees only the illusory appearance, not the essence of the phenomena.