The Great Power of Consciousness in Immediate Perception

For example, when the conscious mind thinks of a square moon, a square moon appears in the brain; but when looking at the round moon in the sky and attempting to imagine the moon before one’s eyes as square, it becomes impossible to conjure such an image. This is because the mind lacks sufficient concentration power and is disturbed by the present perception, making it difficult to clearly engage in inferential perception and imagination.

When the eyes are open, what consciousness perceives are the dharma dusts upon the five dusts; when the eyes are closed, what consciousness imagines is the image-only condition. If, with open eyes, one sees the round moon among the five dusts, after the five sense consciousnesses have cognized the round moon, coupled with the direct perception (pratyakṣa) from the eye consciousness, the power of firsthand seeing becomes strong, and the manas (ego-faculty) can confirm and support it. After seeing the round moon, attempting to imagine a square moon becomes very difficult because the image of the round moon remains in the conscious mind. When consciousness attempts to differentiate between two perceptions simultaneously, the mind becomes divided, and the resulting imaginative function becomes extremely weak, making it quite challenging to imagine a square moon.

The solitary consciousness (manovijñāna) is most susceptible to interference, and thus the imagination of a square moon lacks potency. After all, solitary consciousness engages in inferential perception (anumāna), with relatively few external conditions. The round moon, being directly perceived (pratyakṣa), coupled with simultaneous cognition by the eye consciousness, possesses a strong influence for imagining the round moon. Therefore, causing the image-only condition to manifest becomes somewhat more difficult, and thus the square moon in the mind does not easily arise.

If the mind’s concentration power is sufficiently strong, the solitary consciousness may gain the upper hand, and the mind can then imagine a square-shaped moon, which contradicts the moon perceived in the form dust (rūpa). At this point, the round moon and the square moon may alternate, sometimes round, sometimes square. A person with exceptionally strong concentration may be able to manifest both moons simultaneously or manifest only a square moon. Practice and test your own concentration power to see which consciousness gains the upper hand. If such concentration power can be cultivated, one will, in the future, be able to transform all dharmas and manifest a trichiliocosm (three-thousandfold world system) in a single thought. Healing and adjusting illnesses for others also entirely rely on this concentration power; changing others’ minds likewise depends entirely on this concentration power.