..续本文上一页s it that one meditates

　　 It would be beneficial for one”s meditation to know which consciousness one uses when one meditates.

　　Of course, when one looks at the mind, it seems to be just a mind, but it can be pided into eight different types of consciousnesses. There is what we call “the consciousnesses of the five gates,” which are the five sensory consciousnesses that are like gates to the world of perceptions. The way they work is that on the basis of the eye faculty there arises an eye consciousness that perceives an external object of visual form. Furthermore, on the basis of the ear faculty, the ear consciousness arises and hears an external sound. Likewise, based upon a nose faculty, a nose consciousness arises and smells a scent. Also, the faculty of the tongue gives rise to the tongue consciousness that experiences a taste. Similarly, the body faculty gives rise to a body consciousness that experiences touch, which can be experienced as soft, rough, or anything like that. In this way, we have the five sensory consciousnesses.

　　Looking at the five consciousnesses, it is interesting to ask whether they are conceptual or non-conceptual. Do they have thoughts or are they free of thoughts

　　 The five sensory gates are called “direct perceptions,” i.e., they perceive an object directly. The eye consciousness directly sees a form, the ear consciousness directly hears a sound, the nose consciousness directly smells a scent, and so forth. But these consciousnesses do not think about what they perceive and do not discern, “That”s nice,” or “That”s not nice,” or “This is good and that is bad.” They are non-conceptual, i.e., by nature thought-free. They just experience and that is how they are. They are naturally present and therefore we experience things through our five sense consciousnesses. They cannot and need not be stopped. There is no reason to stop them. Their characteristic is to be naturally present and clear, i.e., the five sensory consciousnesses always perceive something and they are always clear. They are mind”s characteristic – thought-free, direct, and clear perception.

　　The next two consciousnesses are stable in contrast to the unstable five sense consciousnesses. Stable means that they are continuously present - they are always around. The first is called “the all-ground consciousness,” alaya-vijnana in Sanskrit. The alaya consciousness is like the source or place from which everything arises. It is just clear awareness. All the things one clearly sees and experiences arise from the alaya. Clear awareness is what is meant when talking about the all-ground consciousness.

　　The second consciousness is called “the afflicted consciousness.” It is also stable, because it is always present. The afflicted consciousness is that aspect of mind that subtly clings to a self. It”s not a coarse clinging to a self; rather it is a subtle clinging to a self. Whether one actually thinks, “Me,” or “Mine,” or whether one is not thinking, “Me,” or “Mine,” in both cases there is a subtle clinging to a self that one may or may not be aware of. For example, if one is studying Buddhist philosophy and learns that there is no self, one develops certainty that there is no self. At that point one does not have the coarse thought, “Me,” but there is still a very subtle habitual or latent tendency to think, “Me.” And that is due to the seventh afflicted consciousness. Later on, when a practitioner has developed deep knowing and attained a bodhisattva”s levels of realization, clinging to a self is purified during tranquillity meditation. As a practitioner progresses to the seventh and eight bodhisattva stages, the afflicted consciousness is fully purified and not even present during post-meditation. But it is always present for ordinary inpidual…

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