Reciting and Memorizing Are Cognitive Activities Primarily Involving the Conscious Mind

Some Buddhists are very familiar with the scriptures, reciting them effortlessly as if they understand their meaning, yet in truth, they do not genuinely comprehend them. Because the scriptures are too familiar, it becomes difficult to contemplate their true meaning, and understanding stops at the superficial level. Reading and reciting scriptures are activities of the conscious mind (mano-vijñāna), which are relatively effortless, requiring no deep thought, thus tiring neither the brain nor the mind. Deep contemplation, however, requires engaging the mental faculty (manas), activating brain nerve cells, consuming brain energy, and demanding a continuous supply of essence and blood from the body to the brain. This causes mental fatigue, so sentient beings tend to choose easier activities—merely reading or reciting scriptures. Coupled with insufficient meditative concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (prajñā), they are unable to engage in deep contemplation.

Reading scriptures and reciting mantras are primarily mental activities dominated by the conscious mind, where the function of consciousness is prominent. Memorizing scriptures and the Shurangama Mantra also relies mainly on the conscious mind, with consciousness playing a prominent role. Once memorized, consciousness enables rapid and fluent recitation, smooth as flowing clouds and running water, without requiring thought. If recitation slows slightly, the function of consciousness diminishes somewhat, and the function of the mental faculty becomes more prominent. If slowed further, the activity of consciousness weakens, and the function of the mental faculty strengthens; the slower the recitation, the more the mental faculty's function is highlighted. The result is that the less active the consciousness, the less fluent the recitation becomes, until finally, the content to be recited cannot be recalled.

This is because the mental faculty cannot recall or recite scriptures; recollection is a function of consciousness. When conscious activity weakens, its function diminishes, making recitation difficult. In a wakeful state, the less active the consciousness, the deeper the concentration (samādhi); and the deeper the concentration, the less consciousness manifests. When conscious activity diminishes to a certain point, one simply cannot recite the scriptures—the mouth cannot move, not a single word can be uttered, and even mental recitation ceases; the mind cannot silently recite anymore.

Therefore, to cultivate good meditative concentration and engage in meditation (chan), the activities of body, speech, and mind must slow down, reducing the activity of consciousness so that the intuitive function of the mental faculty becomes prominent. When the intuitive function of the mental faculty reaches a certain level, one can directly perceive the mechanization of the physical body during walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, thereby potentially eradicating the view of the body (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), eradicating the view of self (ātma-dṛṣṭi), or realizing the mind (realizing the true nature of mind). It remains uncertain which outcome may arise, but concentration (samādhi) serves this very purpose.

Without concentration, or with shallow concentration, the discerning function of consciousness is very active, facilitating recitation, memorization, and the acquisition of knowledge. Although the thinking of consciousness is highly active, clever, and sharp, what is learned remains superficial, confined to the realm of understanding and knowledge. The profound meaning has not been deeply grasped at the core, because the mental faculty has not realized it. What consciousness learns are the thoughts and viewpoints of others—perhaps even the Buddha's words and realizations—but one has not personally verified them; they remain at the level of knowledge. Such acquired knowledge cannot be presented to others as one's own realization or proof of truth, because one has not yet personally verified it nor found evidence. Only when the mental faculty cooperates with consciousness, engaging in deep contemplation, and genuine realization is attained, do the thoughts and contemplations become one's own views and understanding—one's own insight (dṛṣṭi). Only then can one say to others: "I believe such and such," or "I perceive it thus." Otherwise, one should not say "I think" or "I feel." If one insists on saying "I think" or "I feel," it is merely the thinking and feeling of consciousness, unrelated to the mental faculty, and not yet true insight.