How to Authentically Realize the Eighth Consciousness

Attaining the Eighth Consciousness is like searching for a person; there is not much difference between the two. Suppose we wish to find a person. After deliberation, we finally determine that this person is in a specific room in a certain area, feeling very certain in our mind, yet we have not actually seen this person with our own eyes. Does this count as having found the person?

As long as we have not seen this person and have not faced them in reality, it does not count as having found them. Even if we are very certain that they are in that place, if we have not met them, it still does not constitute finding them. Because we do not know their appearance, what they are truly doing at this moment, how they are doing it, their state of mind, or their cultivation and character—we have no recognition or understanding of this person. We also do not know if the person in that place is the one we are seeking, nor do we know if that person truly exists there. Not seeing it with one's own eyes means it cannot be considered real.

No matter how certain you are in your heart that the person is in that area, in that room, and even if the person is indeed in the room, as long as you have not seen them with your own eyes, it does not count as having found that person. Once you find that person, you will see with your own eyes what they are doing and how they are doing it. This is called witnessing with one's own eyes.

No matter how much you believe that person is in the room, if you do not know specifically what they are doing at that moment or how they are doing it, no wisdom will ever arise. Guessing what that person is specifically doing in the room or how they are doing it—even if the guess is correct—cannot give birth to any wisdom.

For example, suppose a leader tells you to find Person A and see what he is doing. You roughly know that Person A is far away, and going to find him would be arduous. After going out and walking around, you don’t feel like going, but you must complete the task assigned by the leader. So you inquire everywhere and finally learn that Person A is on the eleventh floor of a certain place, and you roughly guess he might be sleeping. You then return and tell the leader that Person A is on the eleventh floor, and as for what he is doing, it’s probably the usual things, nothing out of the ordinary. Does this count as having found Person A?

This is speculation, guessing what Person A is doing. Even if you guess correctly, even if your inquiry was accurate, and Person A is indeed doing that, it is still not seeing with your own eyes. Only by personally seeing Person A can you observe him face-to-face, continuously give rise to the wisdom of recognizing and discerning him, and learn from him. Imagining and guessing will never give birth to such wisdom. Many people have been awakened for many years yet remain stagnant, with no increase in wisdom. Why? Because they have not personally realized it; it is merely understood intellectually.

Many people speculate about the cultivation state of an Eighth Ground Bodhisattva, and some even guess correctly. But no matter how correct or true to reality the guess is, it is not personally realized, and they still remain ordinary beings. The Goldbach Conjecture is applied far too commonly and deeply in the Buddha Dharma. Why is this so? Because realizing the Buddha Dharma is extremely, extremely difficult, so they resort to this inferior method.

After truly attaining the Eighth Consciousness, can one regress? For example, suppose I tell you Person A is in the room, and you believe it very strongly at the time, are very certain, very sure. But since you did not see it with your own eyes, what will you do afterward? You will surely become unbelieving, uncertain, and doubts will arise in your mind. But what you have personally proven through immense hardship, what you have witnessed with your own eyes, will not give rise to doubt or regression. Seeing is believing; hearing is doubtful. What others tell you, no matter how much you believe it, is not a fact for yourself. If you have never personally seen an apple or tasted one with your own mouth, no matter how others describe it, no matter how much I imagine or understand it, it is useless. I will never know the true reality of the apple, nor can I absorb its nutrients.

Therefore, if I hold a large assembly of ten thousand people and explain the functioning of the Eighth Consciousness, I can be very detailed, very meticulous, very specific. Eighty percent of the audience may believe, understand, and comprehend it. Then I issue certificates to these eighty percent, attesting them as Bodhisattvas who have enlightened their minds. These so-called enlightened Bodhisattvas have not witnessed the functioning of the Eighth Consciousness with their own eyes; they only heard me speak and then speculated, fitting it to themselves. What will happen afterward? What will happen after death?

The so-called talk of regression after enlightenment of the mind and seeing the true nature means there was no true enlightenment of the mind and seeing the true nature. It was not attained through the process of investigation; it was merely heard, speculated, and analyzed. Naturally, it's possible to stop believing in such speculation and analysis, leading to regression. Something obtained without going through the arduous cultivation process is like viewing flowers in the fog—unclear—and thus it will be rejected. Speculating an Eighth Consciousness into existence means one cannot truly transfer reliance to the Eighth Consciousness, nor will subsequent merits and benefits arise.

I was thirsty earlier and peeled an apple to eat. If any of you found me and watched me face-to-face as I peel and eat the apple, you would learn from me. You would also know how to peel an apple and how to eat it. Then, seeing me leave the peel for mice to eat after peeling the apple, you would understand my compassionate heart and learn to be similarly compassionate. Further observing that my mind does not give rise to greed while eating the apple, you would then learn how to prevent the mind from giving rise to afflictions like greed, hatred, and delusion. Thus, the mind becomes purified. This is the benefit of meeting me face-to-face; you can learn from me. Then, following me constantly, observing how I conduct myself in the world, my cultivation and character, how I handle various matters specifically—this way, you will learn many things. Your mental conduct, character, cultivation, and so on will all undergo changes. These are the benefits, or merits and benefits, of finding and following me.

Personally realizing the Eighth Consciousness, rather than hearing about it or receiving it through oral transmission, allows one to observe the functioning of the Eighth Consciousness in all dharmas right before one's eyes. One will learn many dharmas, and one's mind-nature will increasingly resemble that of the Eighth Consciousness. Those who rely on speculation will never have such merits and benefits because they cannot observe it right before their eyes.