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Manifestation Only 09
The sixth consciousness (mind consciousness) does not operate continuously like the seventh and eighth consciousnesses, but ceases to function in five main cases:
- Being born into the heaven of non-perception
- Entering the state of non-perception samāpatti (asaṃjñika samāpatti)
- Entering the state of cessation samāpatti (nirodha samāpatti)
- Deep, dreamless sleep
- Unconsciousness (coma)
Mind consciousness has five main modes of activity:
- In conjunction with the five sense consciousnesses (ngũ câu)
- Functioning independently (độc đầu)
- Scattered or dispersed (tán vị)
- In concentration (trong định), focused on one object
- Disturbed or disordered (loạn)
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From talks 27–29, Thay explains the relationship between the six consciousnesses and the store consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna, the eighth consciousness): the three aspects of perception, appearance, and self-nature. The five sense consciousnesses (eye, ear, tongue, body, and mind) arise “like waves relying on water” (based on the stream of mind consciousness), using direct perception (pratyakṣa, hiện lượng) to recognize the true nature of phenomena; when discriminative thinking (vikalpa) intervenes, it becomes perception with conceptual overlay (đới chất cảnh). The sixth consciousness also has three modes: direct perception (hiện lượng), inferential perception (tỷ lượng), and non-valid perception (phi lượng). Mindfulness helps to strengthen concentration (trong định), clarify the true nature of phenomena, and reduce the pollution of conceptual overlay.