Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. In this 47-minute session, Ven Jampa Gendun opens with a striking question: how can a vow taken in a past life block your attainment of liberation today? His answer — that physical and verbal actions imprint a subtle form onto the energy always associated with consciousness, carrying forward lifetime to lifetime — anchors the class in the Sūtra School’s account of the five types of form. He then turns to consciousness itself: its definition as “clear and knowing,” the distinction between the six primary minds and fifty-one mental factors, and exactly what the eye consciousness does and does not apprehend. The brass-bowl exchange and the “sixty-four mind moments in a finger snap” make the abstract framework concrete. Suited to students working through Collected Topics for the first time.
File metadata (for organising)
File: 17 CT 1988 04 19.mp3
UUID: f0c7f169-9882-4776-9a40-eca290e37d28
Teacher: Ven Jampa Gendun
Collection: Collected Topics (Ven Jampa Gendun)
Date: 1988-04-19
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 46.6 minutes
Words: ~5,438
We were talking about a conditioned space or a cause space. For example, the space within this room, the distance between the walls. The distance between the walls appears to our mental consciousness. It appears to our mental consciousness. A form.
The distance between these two the space in this room is a form, and it appears to our mental consciousness. The unconditioned space or uncaused space only appears to inferential consciousness in there. Why? Because Why? Why?
This uncaused space, unconditioned space only appears to inferential consciousness. Inference. Can’t be seen with the eye? Well, this this this shape in this room, the space in this room. Yeah.
So the uncaused space is a generally characterized phenomenon that only appears to cons concept, to the conceptual consciousness. Right? So it only appears to valid inferential consciousness. Excuse me, Jampa. Yeah.
Is there a difference between mental and in fact, or consciousness? What is it? Okay. Mental We can have we can have, you know, the six types of direct perception eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and the sixth is mental perception mental perception. We can have direct perceptions through just the mind.
For example, the mind which directly perceives the shape in this room. But also, inference is always mental. It always deals with the mental consciousness. Mental conscience. Inference is always mental conscious, but direct perceivers, there are six types, one of which is mental conscious.
For example, direct perceivers is yogic, the yogic direct perceiver, self knower, and mental direct perceiver. In general, are four direct perceivers: sensory direct perceivers, mental direct perceivers, yogic direct perceivers, and self knower. These last three are mental consciousnesses. That is to say, they don’t depend upon a physical sense base. That doesn’t help much, does it?
Isn’t it like mental consciousness is involved in specifically characterized phenomena and inferential and so? Again? Is that mental consciousness is concerned with specific character? It can perceive either one. It depends on how whether it’s perceiving a specific character whether the object is casting its aspect to the direct perceiver, mental direct perceiver, or whether it is perceiving the object through the medium of a mental image.
When you think about something, you’re obviously using your mental consciousness. Right? You think about something. But there are other types of direct perception we have. There’s some debate about it.
Some some authors say ordinary person doesn’t have moments of mental direct perception, that it has to be cultivated. But, you know, like certain clairvoyances are through mental direct perception. Having mental direct perception, have a yogic direct perception, which is like having direct perception of things like emptiness or impermanence. Direct perception, not through not your idea about them, but actually directly perceiving them. We can only do that with the mental direct perceiver.
We can’t do that with any of the sense direct perceivers like eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body, or the self knower. In sūtra school, assert what is called the self knower, and this is that which knows what the mind is engaged in. How do we know what we know? How do we know what we’re experiencing? So they say there’s a knower, and this knower, you know, that we’re seeing, there’s something which is knowing that there’s an eye consciousness operating.
This knower is mental, is also a mental consciousness, which is a direct mental consciousness. So it’s their mental consciousness which directly knows their object, and mental consciousness which knows their object through thought, through ideas. So they’re both types. I don’t Yeah. As I said, there’s some debate as whether ordinary people have mental direct perceivers or not.
The third form of the was a form for the mental consciousness, this form arising from promises. For example, a vow, or the absence of a vow. In Sūtra School, a vow is subtle form. It actually is a form, but it’s only an object of mental consciousness that cannot be seen, for example, with the eye consciousness. You know, when we When you take a vow, you know, for example, you you Quite often, would kneel.
You you you kneel down, and you say some certain words. There’s two things which are taking place. We’re creating two types of actions. One is a mental action and one is a physical action. The mental action is the motivation, thinking that I’m taking this vow.
The other is we’re actually taking a physical posture with our body, and we’re reciting certain words verbally. The physical action of crouching and reciting these words creates a subtle shape. We always said, we talked about this before, didn’t we? But the mind is always associated with subtle energy. This subtle energy is modified through this physical action and verbal action, bodily action and verbal action.
The subtle shape which is associated with the mind is modified, so the vow actually is imprinted physically. It actually takes a shape on this subtle energy pattern, which is always associated with the consciousness. This subtle energy pattern, which is a form, is not visible to the eye. It’s too subtle, but it is an object of the mental consciousness. Therefore, it’s said to be a form arising from promises.
Also, actions like a butcher, any type of physical action, killing, modifies this subtle energy pattern. This subtle energy shape. This shape, whatever type of action, physical shape, is an object to the mental consciousness. For example, when we take vows of individual liberation, in lay vows, you take five vows, for example, shape will remain until you break the vow or until you die. Some vows are said to be maintained until you actually renounce them.
For example, bodhisattva vows. They are said that they carry over from lifetime to lifetime. Practically, vows of individual liberation only last until you die, until you actually break them or give them back. There was a famous What was his name? A Thai master in the beginning of the nineteenth Beginning of this century, who said he had actually attained Became an ārya, not an ārya, an ārya, a foe destroyer.
That is to say, he was liberated from cyclic existence. His name was Ajahn Mun. His biography is in our library. He was having difficulties in his practice. He knew he could attain liberation, but he had some obstacle.
He couldn’t He felt there was some hindrance. So he went back towards all his past lives, and he remembered through his clairvoyance that he had taken the Bodhisattva vows into a previous past life. And in taking Bodhisattva vows, we we promised not to seek individual liberation. And then he saw that this was the hindrance which was causing him not to be able to liberate himself. So he renounced He saw that it was a hindrance and he didn’t want to remain in cyclic existence, so he renounced these vows.
And then he was able to It is said that he was able to then attain his own individual liberation. This form had remained in his stream of consciousness from past lives, just having taken the Bodhisattva vow. Yeah. Any any verbal or physical action is going to have create a subtle shape. The energy pattern which is associated with the mind is always associated with consciousness is always associated.
It’s somehow going to be modified. So does this form arise within the mind? Yes. So it’s it’s like it’s like there’s always a subtle energy associated with the subtle mind. It’s like horse and rider.
You know, the the wind or the energy has the has the ability to move motility, and the mind doesn’t. So the mind is the energy is the vehicle of the mind. This is the way the mind travels. So it’s So like part of the makeup that makes us the particular person that we are, all the different, all these different, forms such as vows and whatever that we Yeah. This is where all the physical action the imprints of all the physical actions are are carried, are imprinted on this physical energy, on this actual form.
So Whereas the mental physical form is the form that’s manifesting that manifests from these kind of forms. Yeah. That that that is the that is the main cause for the body that you’ve taken. But, I mean, is this is this physical form of the actual the vows and the breaking of the vows and the and the killing and the and all that. Yeah.
Yeah. That’s yeah. The imp the imprints. Yeah. The shape of the physical the subtle you know, there’s always this there there’s always subtle consciousness and subtle energy always go together.
They’re never separated. It’s almost the same entity. So actions of body and speech modify the physical form. Actions of mind modify the mental form or the mental pattern. And this is what goes from lifetime to lifetime.
So that physical aspect of it is an object of mental consciousness. It’s of actual form. And next is imaginary forms. For example, horses, elephants, or house in a dream, or non actual meditative objects such as area filled with bones. Imagine that they In sūtra school, The objects in a dream appear as if they’re actual objects, actual form, but they’re only imaginary forms.
Sutras, this says that they’re the same entity as the mind. They’re actual forms, but if you dream of an elephant, it’s not an actual elephant. These forms are the same entity as the mind. That is, the subtle energy is creating these forms. Whereas, for example, the Prāsaṇgika, says that these objects are external, that these elephants and everything that appear to in our dreams are external objects, and they’re affecting our mental consciousness.
Just like a reflection in a mirror. You know, as an ex reflection of a mirror or a or an external object affecting our eye consciousness. It causes our eye consciousness to arise in the aspect of that external object. Likewise, or an object being reflected in a mirror, that there are various external objects within which cause our mind to arise in these various aspects of elephants or whatever appears to be a dream of horses. Sometimes they use the meditating on impermanence, they imagine that the whole area is filled with bones.
You know, they visualize that the entire area is filled with bones. And these bones are an actual imaginary form, objects of which are only objects of the mental consciousness. Form for one with meditative power, for example, earth or water appearing to one in isolated meditative stabilization on earth or water, These are not imaginary. These are actual forms. These are manifested through the power of meditation.
It’s said that there are many types of, what they call, kasina meditation on earth, complete water, where, for example, you would imagine that this water was earth, was the actual earth element. Through the power of your meditation you would actually be able to stabilize and create an earth form where the water is, and you’d be able to walk on water. These are actual meditation forms. I don’t know. Or you can walk through walls by imagining that the wall is the wind element.
Yeah. It’s non obstructive. And you actually like the like the water, you actually make create the hardness of earth, enabling you to walk on it, manifested from your meditation. No. No.
That’s not I don’t think it’s created through It’s not manifested through meditation. I thought it was. It’s just when you tell me to do it through a meditative state. To do what? Be able to walk on a hot coal.
Anybody can walk on a hot coals. Any? No. Without Without pain? Oh, without blistering.
Oh, really? The string burning the feet or pain. I imagine it could’ve can I just imagine it? Know. Don’t know.
There’s definitely some kind of Yeah. Therapy. I don’t lady who did it, they go go through various mental practices and then I watched about forty people do one after another one. What did you do? And, yeah, and it was a kind of this group thing.
You know? They all got together, and they sat down, and they sort of went through some kind of discourse, and then they all got up and did it. I don’t know. Well, that completes form. With imaginary form.
Imaginary form. Would that would that sort of in Sūtra School also relate to generally characterized phenomena? These are forms, right? Well, it’s something that is arising in the mind even though it’s a magician. Anything which is a anything what is the main division here?
It’s it’s coming under Well, this is the things in a dream or So these are all divisions of form. Yeah. So for So your idea of Not your idea. It’s not your idea. But that’s still arising in your mind.
Right? That’s because it’s a right a course or an ocean. It’s a form. It’s not it’s not an idea, actual physical form. Yeah.
But, yeah, that’s what I’m trying to Yeah. Is how is does it differ? You know, does does a does an elephant in a dream differ from a mental Yeah. Consciousness that perceives Elephant? Conceives or something.
So it seem it seems like you could have three different types of perception of an elephant. But if I sit here and imagine an elephant So what is what is generally characterized phenomena. That elephant or to the parent. Yeah. That’s right.
But is that the same sort of thing as what they’re talking about? No. This is specifically characterized elephant. There’s not an action it’s not a it’s not a it’s an object for mental consciousness. It’s it’s not an object of a visual consciousness for example.
What about But it’s POs. It’s Such as, you know, just fantasies without actually being unconscious and asleep. I mean, if you have a kind of fantasy where you’re imagining all these things going on, is that is that generally characterized phenomena, or is it or is it the same as it? I would suppose it’s a general general characterized phenomena because these are all all these mentally created, not created, all these forms from the mental consciousness arise only through the power probably through the power of meditation. Well, not through the forms arising from vows would.
But it’s I mean, aside from that No. Not even space form. The the imaginary forms arise through Through the intention of the mental consciousness. They wouldn’t arise uncontrollably, like hallucinations, like if you’ve just been drinking or something. Hallucination.
Imaginary form would arise uncontrollably. No. No. That you have to make an intent. There would have to be an intention.
Right. Hang on. They’re saying, in a dream, like Jumbo, that in a dream doesn’t arise through intention. That’s true. That’s true.
So but Not consciously anymore. No. Well, an imaginary form, though, arises through intention. Right? I mean, if we if we fantasize and and if we imagine, like, if we close our eyes and we try try to imagine an elephant, then that’s through intention.
Right? So then that’s that’s a generally characterized form. Right? The the one is form and one is not form. What yeah?
Well, I was just wondering whether generally characterized phenomena fitted into this category as well as far as the difference between that and experiencing something in a dream. I mean, because I suppose it’s an experience of the mind, isn’t it? I mean, experiencing a kind of a dream where you where you feel, you know, that this is what’s going on at the time. And the same as if you’re thinking of a kind of table or whatever. Did did I I think this would refer to you know, the one explanations in Sūtra School’s explanation for dreams is that the impressions which are made during the day, during that day, that these impressions have a just like in the case of vows, that the various have shaped the various the actual physical energy pattern associated with our consciousness.
And then in the and when during sleep, and these impressions, these physical energies, these imprints on the mental on the subtle energy affect the mind and produce shapes and produce forms. But we can also experience these forms in a conscious state of the world. Right? I do. As well as in an unconscious state.
Know, if you Imaginary. Something, it’s is it still an imaginary form if you’re conscious? Imagine. I mean, rather I mean, what’s the difference between this? I think there’s one that isn’t I think it’s generic generic mental images, the difference between mental images.
If we say, imagine something, we just may think of it. It’s just a thought. And you can agree to this as thought. No. But I’m not talking about just I’m talking about, you know, like, this imaginary form.
Like, you’re you’re dreaming this thing. You think it’s happening at the time. You think this is what’s going on. And so in that way, you know, these things are forms. You know, they’re not just You’re saying in your dream state, when you’re if you’re experiencing a tiger eating you, that in your dream state, you’re feeling that the tiger’s eating you.
So it’s real to you in your dream. Well, that’s what this is talking about. No. It’s they’re talking about these forms in a dream are physical are physical. Physical thing.
But when you think of your your mother Yeah. That’s a mental image. It’s your mental image. It’s not physical. Mental image is not physical.
So these things are like so a dream is not a mental image. The dream images, the dream form. The dream itself, I don’t know. But the the various forms that arise in a dream are physical. Are physical.
Yeah. That is to say, they’re forms from mental consciousness, which are forms. They’re physical. And they form from the same subtle energies that are they’re not external. They’re having the same same subtle energies.
Yeah. The same entity as the mind. This is from the Sūtra School. Yeah. I don’t know.
It’s a difficult subject. I don’t know anything about it. Okay. So the next division is consciousness. So there there are numerous ways we can divide consciousness, as most of you know from your studies of awareness and knowledge.
What did I do with that? So the definitions of consciousness. Who knows what the definition of consciousness is? Okay. What the word clear here mean?
Clear consciousness is unobstructed. So I think that actually is very difficult to under understand what that word clear means for me. It’s not not difficult, but it’s it’s in different ways. One of the ways it’s it’s interpreted is to be nonphysical, nonmaterial. Consciousness is nonmaterial, nonphysical.
Another way, which I have heard, is that it’s clear of any of the obstructions to liberation or the obstructions to omniscience. That is to say, it doesn’t have the these the consciousness, if not a quality of consciousness, these obstructions, that naturally the mind is free of these obstructions. And another another possible translation of the of the same word, which is usually translated as clear, is illuminate illuminating. It means in sense that the the mind is like a torch. The consciousness is like a torch.
What do you say? Is it torch in Australia? Flashlight?? A torch. One aspect of the mind shines its light, illuminates an object, and the other knows it.
So there there’s one which causes the the object to appear, and the other knows the appearing object. So it has also can be thought of as as as illuminating quality, the mind. The consciousness has an illuminating quality. So there’s these three possibilities. Generally, when they say clear, they’re talking about the first one, that it’s nonobstructive, nonphysical, that it’s nonmaterial.
So there are many ways to divide mind. In this chart, he divides mind into mind and mental factors. So, you know, mind and mind mind and mental factors. Maybe we’ll talk a little bit. There are six minds.
Sometimes we refer to it as primary minds. Six minds are the same thing. Primary minds are just minds. The eye consciousness Actually, I don’t know if that’s right. I primary mind. Visual consciousness.
Eye consciousness. That’s probably actually this may not be correct, way this chart is. This could debate it, I think. Eye consciousness, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mental consciousness. What may not be correct?
Is it entirely accurate? When you say eye consciousness, it includes more than just the main mind of the I primary consciousness. It includes also the mental factors which surround this primary consciousness. This whole thing taken together is called eye consciousness. This is probably not correct, but it’s just picky, I think.
Mind and mental factor. Mind, there are six primary consciousnesses or minds, and there are fifty one secondaries according to one system, one method of systematizing the mental factors. The difference between mind and mental factors is that the mind merely knows the entity of an object. For example, the eye consciousness merely knows visible form of an object. It merely knows the eye.
The mind merely knows, You know, it only knows the object roughly. It merely knows the entity, the substance of the object. For example, the eye consciousness merely knows visible form, Whereas the mental factors is the knower, which engages the particular features of the object. So the mind just knows the rough aspect of it not the aspect, the entity. The mind knows the object roughly, whereas the mental factors, they are knowers which engage the particular features of the object.
For example, the mental factors which are associated with eye consciousness would know the particular qualities of color, which color it is, which shape it is. It would engage these particular features. The mental factors are much more specific in their object, what they understand. The primary consciousness is the mind to simply know the object in general. One interesting thing is, what does it mean to know?
We talk about this word clear and knowing. I think it’s extremely difficult subject to know. What does it mean to know? Within the Sūtra School, now we’re talking about Sūtra, one way of explaining what it means to know. An object is able to cast its image, cast its aspect to the consciousness.
What this means is it’s able to cause the consciousness to arise in its aspect, in its image. It’s like a reflection in the mirror. Whatever you put in the mirror, there arises a reflection in that same image. There arises an aspect in the consciousness which is similar to the object. This arising of an aspect similar to the object functions as seeing the object or knowing the object.
This is what we mean when we talk about knowing it directly. When the consciousness arises in the aspect similar to the object, then we say that we know the object directly. For example, an eye consciousness seeing a chair, there arises a similar aspect to the chair, a conscious aspect. Therefore, by the arising of this conscious aspect in the mind or the consciousness, we say we know the chair. This is like a mirror reflecting the chair within our mind.
We can differentiate between the actual object of apprehension, the actual object of apprehension, or the actual object of understanding, for example, the eye consciousness. It’s something that can appear to that consciousness without depending upon anything else. What is the actual object of apprehension of understanding of an eye consciousness? What is the actual object of apprehension of an eye consciousness? What does an eye consciousness know?
Physical form. Form. Physical form. Yeah, that’s right. For example, shape and color.
That is the object, that is the actual object of apprehension of an eye consciousness. Only shape and color. That’s all it knows. That is the only aspect in which the eye consciousness is able to arise. It arises It’s like you take a piece of glass, a piece of clear glass, and you put it on a blue cloth.
The piece of glass takes on the color of that cloth, which is whatever color is placed over. It is as if it’s arising in the aspect of that blue color. The same way with the mind, with the eye consciousness. It arises in the aspect of the actual object, which is shape and color. It arises just like the piece of glass takes on the aspect of the blue color.
We can say that anything which the eye consciousness sees is not necessarily an object of apprehension of the eye consciousness. That is, anything that the eye consciousness sees is not necessarily understood by the eye, is known by the eye. For example, fire and water. Why? Why doesn’t he?
Eye consciousness sees the fire in the water, but it’s not the object of apprehension, object of understanding of the eye consciousness. Why is that? It cannot arise in the aspect of of what? What is fire and water? What is water?
I mean, what is the yeah. What’s the definition of water? What is definition? Okay. It cannot the eye consciousness doesn’t have does not have the ability to rise in the aspect of wetness, or it does not have to rise in the aspect of heat.
Therefore, and water cannot be an object of apprehension of the eye consciousness. But it can see fire and water because we say that to see the color and shape of water and fire is to see fire and water. But it does not apprehend the fire and water, does not understand the fire and water. It merely is able to apprehend the shape and the color of fire and water. And this is sufficient for us to be able to say that the eye sees fire and water.
It does not actually experience fire and water. In order to experience fire, you would have to experience heat. The eye consciousness does not experience heat nor does it experience wetness, so it doesn’t actually experience fire and water. In the case of a table, the eye consciousness is generated in the aspect that is the color and shape of a table. The consciousness does not become a table, nor does the table enter into the eye consciousness somehow.
But the eye consciousness is generated in the aspect, in the shape, in the aspect of the color and shape of the table. Jampa, do you think you could maybe explain to me a bit a bit more specifically the difference between like, the kind of the kind of thing I’m I’m coming to imagine what from your explanation is that we’re kind of like this chameleon type of thing that with all these different sense consciousness, you know, when when you come up against the brass bowll, you know, the this particular sense consciousness manifesting this kind of brass bowl for all. Correct. And then and it’s that way that we experience this kind of That isn’t yeah. Eye consciousness takes on the aspect of So, the eye consciousness doesn’t become a brass bowl.
Takes on the aspect the color and shape of a brass bowl. The color and shape of Brass That’s weird. It’s not very satisfying in a way. It’s interesting. It really sounds really interesting.
This is this is what we say this is what we know. This is what it means to know. As far as Sūtra School is concerned. That means that we know that we see it, that we are apprehending, that we are understanding the brass bowl. It’s my eye consciousness.
Yeah. Doesn’t turn into the shape and color. The aspect of it, no. Not even the shape and color. The aspect or the similar takes on the appearance, a similar appearance to the shape and color of a brass bow.
It doesn’t become why am I brass color? My eye consciousness is of the aspect of a brass bowl. It can’t be experiencing, know, I can’t be experiencing through my eye consciousness something else, you know, as far as taking on the aspect of another form, if I’m looking at that. Yeah, that’s a good point. There is a point what’s called one way of dividing the mind up is into seven, and one of these seven is called appearing but not ascertaining.
If you were eating some delicious food, you’re really into it, someone says something to you, that sound is appearing to ear consciousness, but it’s not being ascertained. Because you’re so wrapped up in this food, your ear consciousness does not take on the aspect of that sound. So even Yeah. Well, how do you hear something when you’re the brass bowl thing? You would have to momentarily set aside your taste your attention would be directed away from your consciousness and be directed towards your hearing consciousness.
Is that why a powerful attainment of the samadhi, or one form is undistractable? His hearing and all these senses are completely shut off. You can’t hear. You can ring a bell in his ear and he can’t hear it. This samadhi is similar to one of the secondary mental factors that you develop to the point where the mind cannot be drawn away to attend to any other object.
It cannot be shifted over to the ear consciousness and eye consciousness. It’s completely directed toward the object of meditation, And therefore, all the other consciousness are inoperative. So does that mean you can only experience one form of consciousness at any given time? Who is it that who is it that’s experiencing? What does it mean to experience?
Well, can the mind you know, if if you’re looking at something and Seeing something through the eye consciousness, does that mean that you can’t, you know, without dropping that, you can’t hear what is going Yeah. We have six primary consciousnesses. Now Now you notice that I’m body consciousness. With all these secondary consciousnesses. They’re kind of like this swarm of bees around the hive.
These are knowing the object roughly, and these are all knowing the object particularly. Amongst one of these are the five object determining. They’re called five object determining, which determine what object our mind is going to go to. Depending upon, for example, the stimulus, depending upon the many, many factors. Usually for ordinary people, it’s the amount of stimulus.
You know, you’re looking at something and somebody yells in your ear, what happens is all these flow over to here. For this moment, this primary consciousness, visual consciousness, eye consciousness, inoperative, and your hearing. We can begin to develop these primary consciousnesses to the point where no matter how much stimulus is in, we can force them to stay with any of these consciousnesses that we wish. Usually we choose the mental consciousness because for meditation purposes. We develop these secondary mental factors, which are able to they direct the mind.
What is the mind going to? What object the mind is going to flow to? Well, say, for instance, like, I’m feeling this thing here. You’re probably not. I think I’m feeling more boredom, and I also think I’m seeing it at the same time.
But am I really swapping from one thing to the other? Yeah. There’s sixty-four mind moments in a finger snap. Right. So I’m really feeling that, and then I’m seeing it, and then I’m seeing it, and then I’m feeling it, like, you Yeah.
The I the two my two two primary consciousness can arise cannot arise simultaneously. You cannot hear and taste something simultaneously. We can talk about where does the aspect arise. Aspect which is similar to the object arises. It’s a conscious aspect.
Is what we mean by saying that we apprehend the object, that we know the object. Where does it arise? Is said in Sūtra School that this conscious aspect, there’s some differences of opinion, arises within, for example, the eye consciousness. The conscious aspect of color and form arises within the pupil of the eye. If we damage the eye, then there’s no basis, there’s no place for this conscious aspect to arise, and therefore we’re blind.
We can’t see. It is said that the conscious aspect is generated simultaneously with the direct perception.