Is the Knowledge of the Past and Future by Dharmasthiti-jñāna Pratyakṣa-jñāna, Anumāna-jñāna, or Abhāva-jñāna?

Possessing the wisdom of the abiding Dharma leads to liberation. Therefore, the wisdom of the abiding Dharma is the direct perception that realizes the twelve links of dependent origination. Even if one can know the past and the future, there is no inferential cognition involved. Wisdom attained through inference is shallow; wisdom that relies on a specific phenomenon to be known is unreliable and incomplete. Once the phenomenon it relies upon ceases to appear, the knowledge gained through inference vanishes. Within inferential cognition, there is no process of the manas (mind-root) personally investigating; thus, the manas cannot directly perceive, nor can consciousness know independently.

Within reasoning, some parts belong to inference, while others belong to non-valid cognition. Even if the reasoning is correct, it is not direct perception because the manas does not know it. The knowing of the manas is immediate: it knows or it does not know, establishing a boundary very quickly, presenting itself in the present moment, without the need for consciousness to engage in slow and deliberate deliberation and investigation.

Some say that since one cannot see the past and the future, and the phenomena of the past and future cannot be present, knowledge about past and future phenomena should be inferential cognition. This is incorrect. So-called "presence" does not necessarily mean appearing before the eyes. Wisdom is not initiated by the eye-consciousness; it is initiated jointly by consciousness and the manas. Consciousness and the manas are fully capable of directly perceiving and verifying the phenomena of the past and future. Especially the manas, which fundamentally transcends the obstacles of time and space, can know all phenomena along with the Tathāgatagarbha. Phenomena from past lives can be recalled upon thinking of them, and phenomena from future lives can be known upon intending to know them. Dream states and meditative states illustrate this point. Therefore, what the manas does not know cannot be the wisdom of direct perception. When consciousness knows directly, the manas may not necessarily know directly, and the knowing of consciousness will be neglected or canceled out according to different conditions.