Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom (book)

The main thrust for reaching enlightenment is done through examining and studying how the mind functions in our confused samsaric state and how we can change it into an enlightened mind. 

Buddhist psychology which is based on meditation and Dharma practice is done by examining the eight different aspects or consciousnesses of mind. In this book there is a translation of the root verses of the Third Karmapa accompanied by a line-by-line commentary by Thrangu Rinpoche, the foremost scholar of this tradition elucidating these verses. Thrangu Rinpoche with his vast experience in meditation then explains how these eight samsaric consciousnesses function and how they are transformed into the five wisdoms at enlightenment.

There are five sensory consciousnesses which simply take sensory information and transfer it from outer stimuli and transform them into messages in the brain without doing any evaluation of the sensory information. There is our constant discursive mental mind which is manufacturing endless thoughts and feelings which may or may not be accurate. Then there is the seventh “klesha” consciousness which constantly oversees the sixth consciousness and creates the illusion of “I and other” which causes all our disturbing emotions. Finally, there is the eighth consciousness acts as a storehouse of information is involved with our karma.

This book then shows how these eight consciousnesses can be purified and become replaced with the five buddha wisdoms at realization.