Differentiating this from that is called discrimination, which is referred to as “consciousness.” Then, the ultimate ability that gives rise to consciousness is called “wisdom”—non-discrimination. Therefore, “with discrimination is consciousness, without discrimination is wisdom.” When this “wisdom,” the underlying ability of consciousness to perceive, turns inward to understand itself, it discovers the ultimate nature of cognition. What, then, is this “wisdom”? In other words, it is when consciousness no longer discriminates outwardly but instead turns inward to discover what its ultimate ability to discriminate is. Gradually, one will understand: emptiness is indeed luminosity, the Tathagatagarbha, the Dharmata. Regardless of the term used, it all refers to this ultimate nature that has been discovered.
The direction of discrimination works outwardly, while self-knowing and liberation are directed inward. This doctrine is known as “Mind-Only following scripture,” not “Mind-Only following reasoning.” Outward discrimination is the function of the eightfold consciousness. When it comes to the eighth consciousness, Alayavijnana, one cannot say whether it works inward or outward, but we still tend to think of it as outward. The ultimate inward direction, which transcends the concept of inside and outside, is the understanding that essence itself is wisdom; this is called the Tathagatagarbha.
The version of Mind-Only that recognizes the emptiness of Tathagatagarbha is referred to as “Mind-Only following scripture.” Conversely, if one asserts that Alayavijnana lacks emptiness and possesses indivisible moments, it is described as “Mind-Only following reasoning.” Let’s set aside these academic concepts for now. Regardless, please remember “outward is consciousness, inward is wisdom.
The Mind-Only following scripture, a powerful Mahayana doctrine, offers a complete explanation of all worldly and conventional phenomena. This is a doctrine that Maitreya Bodhisattva propagates. The belief that cognition directed outward is consciousness, and that matter is also a product of consciousness, is called “mental cognition.”
Excerpted from: Cognition and Expression Part Two
