We perceive through our five senses (Five Consciousnesses): eyes, ears, nose, mouth, body. So we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.
We process what we have sensed through our mind (Sixth Consciousness). So we perceive. Tree. Man. Cat. Book.
Our problems arise with the next step. We judge and discriminate (the seventh or Mana Consciousness). This is good; that is bad. This is right; that is wrong. This is beautiful; that is ugly. And so it becomes easy to think "This is a good-looking person. That is an unattractive person. I like the first but not the second."
Finally, everything from the first seven consciousnesses is stored in the eighth consciousness, our Alaya Consciousness.
The minds of ordinary people rush headlong from the sixth consciousness of perception to the seventh, which is discrimination. Ordinary beings judge and sentence, and are not even aware that this is constantly occurring.
The minds of awakened beings settle into tranquility as they clearly see the tree, the man, the cat, the book. But there is no judging. No discrimination. They have no wandering thoughts or attachments as their eyes, ears, nose, mouth, body, and mind encounter the external environment. There is no good or bad, only beings in need of help so that they too can awaken and dwell in tranquility and peace.