How to Distinguish the Knowing of Mind Consciousness from the Knowing of the True Mind

Question: If one can see the mind and see the nature when attaining preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) and the first dhyāna, then at that time how does one distinguish whether it is the knowing of the mind consciousness or the knowing of the true mind? When seeing the mind, what mind is seen? When seeing the nature, what nature is seen?

Answer: If one can see the mind and see the nature within these two kinds of meditative concentration—preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) and the first dhyāna—it is the mind consciousness carrying the faculty of knowing that finds or knows the eighth consciousness, and understands the rough outline of how the eighth consciousness operates within the five aggregates (pañca-skandha). Therefore, the first dhyāna and preparatory concentration are states of meditative concentration entered by the mind consciousness; then the mind consciousness engages in deliberation and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), wisdom arises, and it discovers the operating trajectory of the eighth consciousness—this is seeing the mind. Seeing the mind is the mind consciousness seeing the mind, and what is seen is the eighth consciousness; seeing the nature is the mind consciousness seeing the nature and function (svabhāva-vyāpāra) of the eighth consciousness, which is seeing the Buddha-nature.

The knowing and understanding at the time of seeing the mind are necessarily the knowing and understanding of the mind consciousness; the objects of both the knowing and the understanding are the eighth consciousness, whereas the true mind, the eighth consciousness, neither knows nor understands the principle of enlightenment and seeing the mind. The true mind does not seek itself, does not realize itself, and does not understand itself.

The mind consciousness is an excellent tool for both cultivation and daily life. It can discern all dharmas and understand all dharmas. Without the mind consciousness, sentient beings would know and understand nothing at all. When studying Buddhism and cultivating practice, one should make full use of the mind consciousness, using it to analyze, deliberate, judge, infer, and verify, and finally to understand all dharmas and realize all dharmas, using it to accomplish the Buddha Way. When we do not need to cultivate extremely deep meditative concentration, we should not weaken the function of the mind consciousness, much less extinguish it, because without the tool of the mind consciousness one cannot do anything, cannot deliberate and engage in contemplative practice, cannot investigate Chan, and cannot attain profound wisdom. Becoming a Buddha depends precisely on the mind consciousness.