Can the Eighth Consciousness Discern the Six Sense Objects?

When hearing sounds, there is the functioning of the ear consciousness, the functioning of the mind consciousness, the functioning of the manas, and the functioning of the eighth consciousness. Here we only discuss the functioning of the mind consciousness. The functioning of the eye consciousness is easy to understand, the functioning of the manas is relatively deep, subtle, and hard to comprehend, while the functioning of the eighth consciousness absolutely must not be discussed.

If, apart from the eye consciousness, the mind consciousness, and the manas, the eighth consciousness could hear sounds, then let the eighth consciousness go hear the sounds of the worlds in the ten directions. However, even if the eighth consciousness could hear all sounds, what would that have to do with the mind consciousness? The mind consciousness still could not know the content of the sounds. When an arhat enters nirvāṇa without remainder, if his eighth consciousness could hear sounds and could do anything at all, would such a nirvāṇa still be tranquil? If the eighth consciousness could hear sounds, could He know whether it was a male voice or a female voice? Could He know whether the sound was pleasant? Could He know where the sound came from? Could He understand what kind of music it was? As for these written words, does the eighth consciousness know what their content is? Can the knowing of the eighth consciousness substitute for the knowing of the mind consciousness? If it could, then the five aggregates and the six consciousnesses could all be extinguished forever, and this would not affect seeing forms, hearing sounds, or listening to the Dharma, nor would it affect the activities of the five aggregates.

If the eighth consciousness also had the manas's function of being the master who decides, then the self-nature of the eighth consciousness would leap off the page, and it would no longer be the eighth consciousness devoid of the nature of self-clinging. If this "self" were to create karma, it would be no weaker than the seven consciousnesses; then birth-and-death and saṃsāra would be the eighth consciousness's own affair, having nothing to do with the seven consciousnesses and the five aggregates. This would completely overturn the existing theoretical system of the Buddha's teachings and establish a new system of Buddhadharma. Which system is correct and accords with truth and fact? Since the eighth consciousness could supposedly discern the objects of the six sense-objects, then let the eighth consciousness do everything, and let the seven consciousnesses take a rest—even sleeping in a dead faint for a hundred years would be fine.

There are also people who say that pushing out a fist, raising a palm, rubbing fists and palms, and so on and so forth, is the eighth consciousness, and that knowing this is enlightenment. Very well, then, from now on, whenever something needs to be done, let us have the eighth consciousness do it, and let all seven consciousnesses go rest. After death there is no need to worry about anything either, because the eighth consciousness can do anything and can completely substitute for the body of the five aggregates. After falling asleep or passing out in a faint, just let the eighth consciousness see forms, hear sounds, smell scents, taste flavors, feel tangibles, and discern dharmas—it would not matter at all if the six consciousnesses ceased, and it would be fine whether or not there was a manas.

If one cannot distinguish clearly between the functions of the true and the false, then one should not talk at all about attaining fruition or seeing one's true mind. As for enlightenment and awakening to the true mind of this kind—those who awaken to the "thought-free numinous awareness" can all do it, and some of them indeed awaken in this way; the awakenings of various schools and lineages, many of them, are also awakenings of this kind. But these awakenings are all very bizarre: they take the false as the true and fail to distinguish the true from the false, no different from not having awakened to the esoteric meaning at all.