唯識二十論述記 2.182

2.182

The commentary says: This explains the two words 'direct awareness' in the first line of the verse. Direct perception such as seeing this thing arising at times other than dreams and the like should be known to be likewise; even without external objects, this direct awareness arises. One should formulate the inference: 'All direct awarenesses apart from dreams and the like arise by taking non-present objects as their cognitive condition; because they are admitted to be direct awarenesses; like the direct awareness in dreams and the like.' What is meant here is: if it is genuine direct perception, such as the five consciousnesses, it does not form this conceptualization: 'I am now directly experiencing such an object.' That which forms this conceptualization is the discriminative deluded awareness within the mental consciousness, not the mind and caittas of direct perception. The Cheng weishi lun says: 'When directly experienced by direct perception, it is not grasped as external; later, mental consciousness discriminates, falsely giving rise to the idea of an external object. Therefore, the object of direct perception is its own objective aspect; being transformed by consciousness, it is also said to exist; while real external form and so forth grasped by the mental consciousness are falsely conceptualized, so they are said to be non-existent.' That treatise also says: 'Nominal cognition and verbal designations do not grasp particular characteristics; they operate only on the common characteristics of phenomena.' Therefore, one who possesses direct awareness definitely lacks this cognition and this statement: 'I am now directly experiencing such an object.'