V CONSCIOUSNESS

Consciousness is the key factor of the mind. It is the basic awareness of the object, the light of awareness which makes all experience possible.

Consciousness is divided into six types by way of its bases:

(a)  eye consciousness cognizes visual objects.
(b)  ear consciousness cognizes sound
(c)  nose consciousness cognizes smell
(d)  tongue consciousness cognizes taste
(e)  body consciousness cognizes tangible sensations
(f)  mind consciousness cognizes objects of outer senses such as sights, sounds... etc as well as mental objects such as ideas, concepts,images, abstract notions etc.

Consciousness seems similar to perception, but these two perform different functions. Consciousness is the general awareness of objects, while perception is the specific factor which grasps the object's distinctive qualities.

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