The Result of Inference Cannot Be Regarded as Direct Perception

For example, in worldly affairs, when police officers handle a case, they always work by going to the relevant scene to search for evidence of the suspect's crime; they never handle a case by sitting at a desk relying on the mind consciousness's analysis and inference. Even if the inference is correct, it can never be treated as evidence. Although there is inferential activity in the process of investigation and evidence gathering, the inference is for the purpose of finding evidence as quickly as possible; if no evidence is found, such inference is discarded and the process starts over from scratch. Without reliable and accurate evidence, no matter how great the suspicion against a suspect, he cannot be convicted and can only be released without charge. When a court passes judgment on a criminal, it relies entirely on facts and solid evidence; no court has ever convicted a criminal on the basis of inference alone.

The realization of the Buddha-dharma strictly embodies objective laws and is even more rigorous than worldly law, admitting not the slightest error. Without conclusive factual basis, the manas cannot realize it—there is no way around this.

If A says to the investigators: "Judging by B's daily behavior and his habits, my gold watch must certainly have been stolen by B." The investigators and the court can never convict B on the basis of A's inference. Even if A's inference is correct, it is not fact and cannot serve as the basis for conviction. Even if everyone clearly knows that B must have been the thief, B still cannot be found guilty.

It is the same with realization-enlightenment in the Buddha-dharma. Even if one's logical thinking is powerful and one's inference is perfectly correct, it is still not fact and does not count as realization-enlightenment. Through inference alone, one cannot negate oneself and thereby eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa), because the manas has not seen the facts and has not been touched in body and mind; therefore it cannot negate the five aggregates as self, and the view of self cannot be eradicated. Without eradicating the view of self, one cannot attain realization-enlightenment. Mere intellectual understanding is permitted, but understanding confers no beneficial merit; one cannot attain purity of the dharma eye, and the mind of liberation cannot arise.

For whom does the mind consciousness make its inferences? It makes inferences for the manas, in order to make the manas understand. For whom does the mind consciousness perform its analyses? It analyzes for the manas, in order to make the manas understand. Because the manas cannot infer or analyze, it often cannot make up its mind when encountering situations. After the mind consciousness has analyzed and inferred, it will understand certain matters, and can then make judgments and decisions.