宗鏡錄 49.33

49.33

Answer: Ancient explanations state that direct perception (pratyakṣa) is twofold: first, genuine; second, apparent. As for genuine direct perception, its substance is the bodies of the five consciousnesses, the consciousnesses concurrent with the five, all self-verifying divisions (svasaṃvittibhāga), all minds in absorption (samādhi), as well as the eighth consciousness. These minds and mental factors are called 'direct' (pratyakṣa) on account of six senses: First, 'manifestly existing', which excludes [non-existent things like] hare's horns. Second, 'present', which excludes past and future. Third, 'clearly manifested', which excludes seeds (bīja), because [seeds] lack active function. Fourth, 'directly separated [from conceptualisation] and illuminatingly present' is called 'direct'; that is, the mental mode of the cognitive mind is far removed from all conceptualisation; that is, free from the conceptual minds that engage in recollection, deliberation, conventional designation, categories, and so forth. The Hetuvidyā-śāstra states: 'Herein, direct perception is called non-conceptual.' The commentary states: 'This reveals that the mental mode of the cognitive mind does not calculate or deliberate, but naturally conforms to and matches the preceding object.' Fifth, 'direct' means 'clearly appearing'; that is, all minds in absorption are clear and tranquil, and whatever object they encounter, they clearly witness it; thus, clearly witnessing multiple objects is called direct perception. Sixth, 'direct' means 'intimately present'; that is, intimately merging with the self-substance. Whether in all distracted minds, or when intimately and clearly distinguishing from its self-substance in regard to an object, all are called direct perception. The fifth, 'clearly appearing', and the sixth, 'intimately present'—these two meanings exclude all wrong cognitions and the like, as when diseased eyes see hairs or flowers in the sky: although they are free from conceptualisation and cognise spontaneously, they cannot clearly witness multiple objects or intimately merge with their self-substance; therefore, they are not direct perception. As for apparent direct perception, according to reason, there are five kinds of cognition that are all termed apparent direct perception: 1. A distracted mind apprehending the past; 2. An isolated manovijñāna apprehending the present; 3. A distracted manovijñāna apprehending the future; 4. Cognition of doubt apprehending the three periods of time; 5. Confused and erroneous understandings apprehending the present. Because the cognitive modes of these minds involve calculation and deliberation, and none take the specific characteristic (svalakṣaṇa) as their object, and also because they operate according to conceptualisations based on prior experiences, they are termed apparent direct perception. Yet there are two kinds: 1. Non-conceptual minds, namely those of foolish humans, or spontaneously seeing flowers in the sky and the like; although without conceptualisation, because they do not clearly and intimately witness the object, they are called apparent direct perception. 2. Conceptual minds, which present conventional designations and fail to attain the specific characteristic of phenomena, yet falsely claim to clearly attain the substance of the object; these are called apparent direct perception. It is also said that seeing a 'unified composite' (piṇḍagrāha) such as man, woman, heaven, earth, and so on is called apparent direct perception. This is because multiple conditions combine, as when aggregating minute particles to form matter, or combining the five aggregates to form a person, which is termed a 'unified composite'. Those who perceive in this way possess conceptual cognition, which operates aberrantly with regard to the object; hence it is called apparent direct perception. As for genuine direct perception, it is like when the 'unified composite' has no apprehendable characteristic. The Diamond Sūtra states: 'The Tathāgata speaks of a unified composite as not being a unified composite.' Because it is combined from conditions, it is devoid of intrinsic nature; the nature of naturelessness is the principle that is realized. To know in this way is the arising of right cognition, which operates in the domain of the specific characteristic; this is called genuine direct perception. Furthermore, brushing away the traces of the cognitive subject and the object of realization constitutes genuine direct perception: if there were a cognition external to tathatā that unified with tathatā, there would still be an apprehension, which is not true realization; only when subject and object are both extinguished is it genuine direct [perception]. The Vijñaptimātratāsiddhiśāstra states: 'When the cognition attains nothing whatsoever regarding the object, at that time it abides in vijñaptimātra, because it is free from the characteristics of the two apprehensions.' The sūtra states: 'There is also no cognition outside of tathatā that can realize tathatā'—this is precisely genuine direct perception. Therefore, all deeds and manifestations of the Buddhas are entirely direct perception. As the Dhāraṇī Sūtra on Protecting the Sovereign of the State says: 'The Tathāgata fully knows the inhalations and exhalations of all those sentient beings, their various foods and drinks, their various requisites, their various appearances, their various faculties, their various practices and understandings, their various mental dispositions, dying here and being born there, their momentary flow and continuous arising and ceasing. The Tathāgata fully knows all of this through direct perception, not through inference. What is direct perception? It means knowing truly without moving a single thought, without a fluctuating mind entering the past. When knowing in this way, wisdom is complete, and he preaches various Dharmas in accordance with the minds of sentient beings.'