Another special characteristic of consciousness is that it is an awareness of particulars, a knowledge of specific aspects, or a form of discriminative knowledge. This may be understood by way of examples. When one sees say a striped piece of cloth, although one may not initially identify it as such, one discerns specific attributes, for example its colours, which are distinct from one another. Once consciousness discerns these distinctions, perception (saññā) identifies them, say as ‘green’, ‘white’, or ‘red’. When one eats a particular kind of fruit, although one may not yet have identified the flavour as ‘sweet’ or ‘sour’, one already has an awareness of such distinctions. Similarly, although one may have not yet distinguished between the specific kinds of sourness, of say pineapples, lemons, tamarind, or plums, or between the specific kinds of sweetness, say of mangos, bananas, or apples, by tasting the flavour one is aware of its distinctive nature. This basic form of knowing is consciousness (viññāṇa). Once this awareness arises, the other mental aggregates begin to operate, for example one experiences the flavour as delicious or unsavoury (= vedanā), or one identifies the flavour as one particular kind of sweetness or sourness (= saññā).

「識」的另一個特徵是它是對特殊事物的覺知，那是特定面向的知識，或者是一種分別性的知識；例如當一個人看到一塊有條紋的布料時，雖然一開始可能不會識別為條紋布，但可以辨別出彼此不同的特定屬性，例如它的顏色，一旦識(viññāṇa)辨別出這些區別，想 (saññā)就會標記它們，例如綠色、白色或紅色；當一個人吃某種特定的水果時，雖然他可能還沒有辨別出這種味道是甜還是酸，但他已經識知其中的不同，同樣的道理，雖然人們可能還沒有辨別特定種類的酸味，比如菠蘿、檸檬、羅望子或李子，或者區分特定種類的甜味，比如芒果、香蕉或蘋果，一個人透過品嘗味道識知(viññāṇa)其獨特的性質，這種了知的基礎形式就是意識（viññāṇa）。一旦這種覺知生起，其他的行蘊就開始運作，例如，當一個人體驗到味道是美味的或難吃的（受/vedanā），或者一個人將味道標記為一種特定的甜味或酸味（想/saññā）。

The knowledge of specific aspects referred to above may be explained thus: when consciousness arises, for example when one sees a visual object, in fact, one is seeing only specific attributes or facets of that object in question. In other words, one sees only those aspects or angles that one gives importance to, depending on the mental formations (saṅkhāra) which condition the arising of consciousness (viññāṇa)

之前提及的特定方面的知識，可以這樣解釋：當心識生起時，例如當一個人看到一個視覺對象時，事實上，他只看到該對象的特定屬性或面向，換句話說，一個人只看到那些他重視的角度，這取決於制約心識生起 (識/viññāṇa) 的行 (saṅkhāra)。

For example, in a wide expanse of countryside grows one sole mango tree. It is a large tree, yet it bears only a few pieces of fruit and in this season is almost barren of leaves, providing very little shade. On different occasions, five separate people visit this tree. One man is fleeing from a dangerous animal, one man is starving, one man is hot and looking for shade, one man is searching for fruit to sell at the market, and the last man is looking for a spot to tie up his cattle so that he may visit a nearby village. All five men see the same tree, but each one sees it in different ways. For each one eye-consciousness arises, but this consciousness varies, depending on their aims and intentions in regard to this tree. Similarly, their perceptions of the tree will also differ, according to the aspects of the tree that they look at. Even their feelings (vedanā) will differ: the man fleeing from danger will rejoice because he sees a means to escape; the starving man will be delighted because the 3-4 mangos will save him from starvation; the man suffering from heat may be disappointed, because the tree does not provide as much shade as it normally would; the man looking for fruit may be upset because of the paucity of fruit; and the man driving his cattle may be relieved to find a temporary shelter for them.

例如，在廣闊的鄉村中生長一棵芒果樹，這是村裡唯一的一棵大樹，但它只結出幾顆果實，在這個季節沒有葉子，幾乎沒有樹蔭；在不同的情境，有五個不同的人造訪這棵樹:一個人正在逃離危險的動物，一個人正挨餓，一個人因酷熱而正在尋找陰涼處，一個人正在尋找水果到市場出售，最後一個人正在尋找一個地方拴住他的牛，所以他造訪鄰近的村莊。五個人都看到同一棵樹，但每個人都以不同的方式看待它，每個人的眼識都會生起，但眼識的不同，取決於他們對這棵樹的目標和意圖(行/saṅkhāra)。同樣地，由於他們所看到樹的不同面向，因此對樹的看法也會不同，因此感受 (vedana) 也會不同：躲避危險的人會很高興，因為他看到了逃脫的方法；挨餓的人會很高興，因為三、四個芒果可以讓他免於飢餓；受熱苦逼的人可能會感到失望，因為這棵樹沒有像往常那樣提供足夠的涼蔭；尋覓水果的人可能會因為沒有水果而心煩意亂；趕牛的人可以放心地為牛隻找到一個臨時避難所。

(英文摘自Buddhadhamma Natural Laws and Values for Life By Phra Prayudh Payutto)

後記:「一個人只看到那些他重視的角度，這取決於制約心識生起 (識/viññāṇa) 的行 (saṅkhāra)」這是關鍵的字句，所以除了察覺識心的升起之外，推動識知的行心，就是一雙推手，然而受、想、行、識等交織又互纏，沒有一個真正的住處與開端。