What Method Can Truly Lead to the Realization of the Eighth Consciousness?

The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: 法不可见闻觉知，若行见闻觉知，是则见闻觉知，非求法也。 What does this sentence mean? The original meaning is that the dharma of the eighth consciousness is not something that can be seen and known through seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing. If you use seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing to cognize Him, then it would only be the functioning of your own seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing, and you would not see the eighth consciousness. Using seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing to know the eighth consciousness is not the method of seeking the eighth consciousness; this is not the method of realizing the eighth consciousness.

The "dharma" in the original text refers to the fundamental essence and source of sentient beings, the eighth consciousness. This dharma is essentially different from all other dharmas; it determines all dharmas. For beginningless kalpas, sentient beings have been lost, constantly chasing after false dharmas and branches and leaves, not knowing there is a source. Only after knowing there is a source does one understand to seek it, return to the source, and revert to simplicity and truth.

How can one trace back to the source? Those who do not know how to seek will use the functions of seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing to search—and that is what the vast majority of people do. In the end, they may not even see a shadow of the eighth consciousness; and even if they see a shadow, it is useless, for they still cannot return to the source. What are seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing? They are the functions of the six consciousnesses: the eye sees, the ear hears, the nose smells, the tongue tastes, the body touches, and the mind knows. This is the way the six consciousnesses discern the objects of the six sense-objects. Using the mode of discerning the six sense-objects to seek and discern the eighth consciousness is mismatched, because the eighth consciousness differs from the six sense-objects in very obvious and enormous ways. Seeing the eighth consciousness should not be the same as seeing the six sense-objects. Therefore, the Vimalakīrti Sūtra says that if one proceeds by seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing, it is merely seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing, and is not seeking the dharma. Savor this sentence carefully; it is especially important. When the method and means are wrong, the goal cannot be reached and the aim cannot be achieved.

The meaning of the sutra text clearly says: seeing the eighth consciousness is not the functioning of the seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing of the six consciousnesses. Then what kind of function is it? Who sees the eighth consciousness? Here the function of the mind consciousness is clearly negated—it is not seeing in the way the mind consciousness does. What functions does the mind consciousness have? Reasoning, thinking, analyzing, imagining, organizing, summarizing, concluding, comparing, and so on. That is to say, using these functions to see the eighth consciousness, one simply cannot see the substance of the eighth consciousness; if one truly believes one has seen it, what is seen can only be a fake. If someone uses the conscious mind to search out the eighth consciousness and believes they have seen their true mind, attained enlightenment, and realized the Way, that is an enormous misunderstanding—the Great Master Vimalakīrti does not permit it. If it is something the Great Master does not permit, yet one insists on it anyway, then one bears the consequences oneself—as long as one can bear them.

Therefore, in the final analysis, the enlightenment methods of the patriarchs are genuine and true, neither deceiving themselves nor deceiving others—at the very least they do not disgrace Buddhism, and their conscience can be at ease. As the saying goes: if the manas, the master, does not realize enlightenment, what use is the effort of the mind consciousness as an auxiliary tool? If the master has not deigned to speak, everything said is useless. Therefore, to realize any dharma—including worldly dharmas—the master, the manas, must personally realize it; only what is seen with one's own eyes is called personal realization. Only then is there functional benefit, only then can all false dharmas be transformed, only then is it thorough and ultimate, and only then is it real and true.