(1) The act of cognizing or knowing something, but without necessarily knowing what it is or what it means. It may be either valid or invalid, conceptual or non-conceptual. This is the most general term for knowing something. (2) The "package" of a primary consciousness, its accompanying mental factors (subsidiary awarenesses), and the cognitive object shared by all of them. According to the Gelug presentation, in the Sautrantika, Chittamatra and Yogachara-Svatantrika tenet systems, a cognition also includes reflexive awareness (rang-rig).
Tibetan: ཤེས་པ། shes-pa
J. Hopkins: Consciousness
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