Now let us deepen our understanding of these seven facets of our perception, as if peering into the ancient wisdom scrolls of the Buddhist teachings, which, like light, shed truth on the nature of our mind.
Direct Perception: Buddhist texts, like echoes of centuries, emphasize the paramount importance of direct experience as the foundation of true knowledge. In the Majhima Nikaya, the Buddha, like a wise teacher, exhorts us to see things as they are, without the mediation of concepts or interpretations.
"Oh bhikkhus, when you see the form with the eye, you simply see the form. When you hear a sound with your ear, you just hear the sound. When you smell a smell through your nose, you just smell the smell. When you taste with your tongue, you just taste it. When you touch your body, you just feel the touch. When you know a thought with your mind, you simply know a thought."
This passage emphasizes the need for awareness and being in the present moment, without immediately labeling and judging our sensory experiences.
Inference: Buddhist logic (pramana), like a sharp sword, attaches great importance to inference as a valid source of knowledge. However, the Buddhist texts, likewise warnings, remind us of the need to distinguish between superficial understanding based on reasoning and deep understanding that arises from meditation and contemplation. The Golden Light Sutra speaks of the importance of distinguishing between these two types of understanding.
"Rely on your own experience, not the words of others. Rely on your own reason, not on other people's opinions. Rely on your own wisdom, not blind faith."
While inference is valuable as a tool, it must be supplemented by personal experience and intuitive understanding.
Subsequent Cognition: The Buddhist teachings, like a river of time, speak of the impermanence of all things. Our memories and recognition of objects are based on past impressions, which are themselves changeable. The Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification) describes the process of the arising and disappearance of mental images, emphasizing the transience of our experience and therefore of our subsequent cognition.
"Everything composite is impermanent, everything composite suffers, all dharmas are devoid of self."