Selected Lectures on the Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi-śāstra
Explanation of Volume Three of the Cheng Weishi Lun (3)
Original text: 如何此识。非别境等。心所相应。互相违故。谓欲希望。所乐事转。此识任运。无所希望。胜解印持。决定事转。此识瞢昧。无所印持。念唯明记。曾习事转。此识昧劣。不能明记。定能令心。专注一境。此识任运。刹那别缘。慧唯简择。德等事转。此识微昧。不能简择。故此不与。别境相应。此识唯是。异熟性故。善染污等。亦不相应。恶作等四。无记性者。有间断故。定非异熟。
Explanation: This section still discusses the mental factors (caittas) of the Ālayavijñāna. "如何此识。非别境等。心所相应。" — this sentence explains why the eighth consciousness is not associated with the five object-specific mental factors and the like; that is, why He is not associated with the five object-specific mental factors, and why He does not possess the five object-specific mental factors. What are the five object-specific mental factors? The five object-specific mental factors are: desire (chanda), determination (adhimokṣa), mindfulness (smṛti), meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā) — these five mental factors.
The meaning of "object-specific" (śuddha) is that these five mental factors do not manifest at all times and in all places; they only manifest and operate under particular circumstances, and there are many times when they do not manifest — that is why they are called object-specific. This is unlike the five universal mental factors, which must accompany the eight consciousnesses, operating continuously from beginning to end. The five object-specific mental factors are, in many instances, interrupted and unable to manifest; they cannot be universally present in all times and all dharmas.
Why is the eighth consciousness not associated with the five object-specific mental factors and the like? The Cheng Weishi Lun says: "互相违故。" What does "mutually contradictory" mean? It means that the characteristics (ākāra) of the eighth consciousness and the characteristics of the five object-specific mental factors contradict each other; the specific characteristics of the two are described in detail below.
The mental factor of desire (chanda) means operating toward the objects one delights in. This includes two aspects of meaning. One aspect is that what the mind presently does not have — a state not yet attained, a state not yet possessed — the mind wishes to possess, hoping to realize that wish and reach that goal and aspiration. Desire means to think of, to want, to hope, to plan, to intend — this is desire. Having hopes, having longings, having requirements, having expectations — this is called desire. Hoping to obtain people, matters, things, or principles that are not yet present or do not exist, hoping to possess them, hoping to realize them — this is one aspect of the content of desire.
The other aspect of the meaning of desire is that, regarding people, matters, things, or principles that presently exist, one hopes they will disappear and no longer exist, hopes to be far from them, hopes to abandon them. The state one currently possesses contradicts our mind; we do not wish it to continue existing, yet it exists and does not part from us. Desire means wanting to relinquish, discard, cast off, leave, and turn away from that state — these are the two aspects of the content of desire.
Who possesses desire? Who has this mental factor of desire? Desire is possessed by the consciousnesses of the six sense consciousnesses. When the six consciousnesses manifest, sometimes the mental factor of desire accompanies them. When the minds of the six consciousnesses intend to possess certain states, hope to possess certain states, or want to leave certain states, these all belong to the aspect of desire, called the mental factor of desire. Having hopes, having longings, having cravings, having expectations, having wishes — these are all the mental factor of desire possessed by the minds of the six consciousnesses. However, the mental factor of desire does not appear constantly; it appears only occasionally. Otherwise, sentient beings' mental desires would be too blazing and their afflictions too many — especially since sentient beings have meager merit (alpa-puṇya), and their desires are fundamentally not easy to fulfill.
Then does the eighth consciousness have the mental factor of desire? We know that the nature of the eighth consciousness has no desires; He does not act as a master, has no hopes, no cravings, no expectations. He operates toward all dharmas spontaneously (anābhoga), and operating spontaneously is also called "thus by nature" (dharmatā). He is simply such an operating program; His functioning is just like this. Moreover, He does not correspond to the objects of the six sense objects (ṣaḍ-viṣaya), and does not know the six sense objects; therefore He also has no cravings or greedy longings for the six sense objects.
The eighth consciousness has no cravings, no requirements, no seeking, no hopes, no plans, no wishes toward any dharma — this is the characteristic of the eighth consciousness. Especially regarding the six sense objects: the eighth consciousness does not correspond to the six sense objects, so He certainly does not wish for the six sense objects to be one way or another. Therefore He has no longings, no desires, no expectations, no plans, and not even the slightest wish whatsoever.
Then when the minds of the six consciousnesses want to become Buddhas, does the eighth consciousness have this wish? This matter has nothing to do with the eighth consciousness; He does not correspond to this dharma. He has no mental activities or wishes in this regard; toward becoming a Buddha, He has no longing or wish. He will not study Buddhism, will not receive precepts, hold precepts, or keep precepts, and He does not learn any dharma whatsoever. On the contrary, the minds of the six consciousnesses want to escape the suffering of birth and death and want to become Buddhas as quickly as possible; yet when the six consciousnesses study these Buddhist dharmas, they all must rely on the eighth consciousness in order to cultivate and study them. The eighth consciousness's functioning on all dharmas is spontaneous, following karmic seeds, following conditions, following the manas, operating thus by nature. Such is His characteristic, such is His functional nature, and such is His operating program.
The Ālayavijñāna always operates according to a certain program. He has no hopes, plans, or cravings of His own — none at all. Toward all dharmas He seeks nothing. He will not say: "I want to manifest a body for myself to own; I will not manifest such a body but want to manifest that kind of body; I want to manifest such a universe and material world, not that kind of universe and material world." He has no such mental activities, no such plans, no such intentions; He has no mental activities whatsoever.
He simply operates thus by nature: attending to the seeds, outputting the seeds, realizing karmic results. After outputting the seeds, the myriad dharmas are produced. According to some condition, some karmic condition, He manifests a certain dharma, cooperating with all the activities of the seven consciousnesses. Therefore the eighth consciousness, the Ālayavijñāna, has no mental factor of desire, no desires and no longings.
The second of the five object-specific mental factors is determination (adhimokṣa). What is determination? The Cheng Weishi Lun says: "胜解印持。决定事转。" "Sealing and holding" (印持) means to imprint a certain matter, a certain dharma, leaving an impression, and to receive and hold it — that is, to have attained a certain degree of understanding of the matter, and to be able to receive, hold, and apply it. "Operating toward decided matters" means having understood and known that a certain matter or dharma is such-and-such, with the mind already firm and no longer doubting.
For example, upon seeing a flower, both the eye consciousness and the mind consciousness clearly know it, and thus take the flower's mark, the mind imprints and holds the flower's mark, and the mind becomes decided: this is such-and-such a flower. Having understood the flower's appearance and features — based on the flower's outward appearance, its manifest color, its color, its shape, its expressive characteristics, its non-expressive characteristics — one knows this is a flower, and knows specifically what kind of flower it is; the flower's variety and other contents are all known. Thus the entire flower is imprinted and held in the mind, the mind is decided: this is such-and-such a flower.
Then upon seeing a person, the minds of the six consciousnesses also imprint and hold: this is a person, how old, male or female, what their form is like, what their temperament is like, what their learning and cultivation are like, what their appearance is like, what their conduct is like — regarding their words, deeds, and behavior, one can then have determination; one has understood, comprehended, seen clearly, and the mind is decided, with no doubt within — this is called determination (adhimokṣa). Having decided and affirmed that it is thus, that it is a certain dharma, that it is like this — this is called determination.
Does the Ālayavijñāna have this mental factor of determination? The Cheng Weishi Lun says: "此识瞢昧。无所印持。" What does "dull and obscure" (瞢昧) mean? It means the mind is dim, inferior, and without knowledge, unable to perform discernment. This refers to the Ālayavijñāna not discerning the six sense objects, not knowing the nature of the six sense objects. So-called dullness means not understanding; in the Chan school it is called "not comprehending" (不会) — because He does not comprehend the six entrances (ṣaḍ-āyatana). He does not comprehend the six sense objects; He is not clear about them. Because He does not correspond to the six sense objects — the six sense objects are what the six consciousnesses correspond to and discern — the Ālayavijñāna does not face the six sense objects, does not recognize the six sense objects, does not comprehend the six sense objects, does not comprehend the six entrances.
"此识瞢昧。无所印持。" — Toward all these dharmas, the Ālayavijñāna has no determination. When we meet a person, the six consciousnesses evaluate that person, have determination about them, imprint and hold them, and within the mind there is a decisive concept of what kind of person this is. But the Ālayavijñāna cannot see this person, cannot hear this person's voice; all information related to this person is not discerned by the eighth consciousness, does not correspond to it. Therefore, regarding this person, the Ālayavijñāna has no determination; He does not know this is a person, and of course knows even less what kind of person — age, temperament, appearance, conduct — He understands none of it, knows none of it. This is called dullness and obscurity.
Having nothing imprinted and held, the Ālayavijñāna therefore cannot imprint and hold, cannot decide, cannot have determination; of course He also has no designations (names) or thinking. Toward all states — the external mountains, rivers, and the great earth, flowers, grass, and trees, the universe and material world, all the sounds of wind and birds, the scents of odor objects — He has no power of determination and does not correspond to them. Even though He can transform and create the five-aggregate bodies of sentient beings, toward the five-aggregate body He also has no determination; He will not say "this is a human body, and I should create it in such-and-such a way" — He has no such concepts.
Although He can transform and create the myriad dharmas — all dharmas are created by Him — after creating them, He does not discern them; even while creating them, He does not know exactly what He is creating. He merely outputs seeds according to karmic seeds, operating spontaneously; as for the result, He does not control it. He simply operates according to a certain program, a certain process, like a formula — entirely formulaic. He thus operates at every instant after instant, every day, every month, every year, revolving according to formula and program, while simultaneously creating all dharmas. But He does not know exactly what He is creating; He has no concepts of the myriad dharmas; He has no mental factor of determination.
The third of the five object-specific mental factors is the mental factor of mindfulness (smṛti). The definition of mindfulness in the Cheng Weishi Lun is: "念唯明记。曾习事转。" What is "clear remembering" (明记)? It is clearly and distinctly recording a matter, keeping it in mind. "Operating toward formerly experienced matters": "formerly" (曾) means in the past, already gone by. For example, as I am speaking right now, the next second, after the words are finished, they have passed; these words no longer exist now — this is called "formerly." Whatever has passed is called "formerly." "Experienced" (习) means doing and acting. The mind, regarding matters it has done and all the people, matters, things, and principles it has experienced, can clearly remember and store them, and can also recall and recollect them — this is called mindfulness.
Who possesses this mental factor of mindfulness? Who has the mental factor of mindfulness? It is possessed by the mind consciousness. The mind consciousness's mental factor of mindfulness is quite strong; whatever dharma it contacts, it can remember, and afterward can recall it, and can constantly recite, think of, and hold it in recollection — this is called memory. The mind consciousness has the function of memory. Why does it have the function of memory? Because it has determination: the mind consciousness can understand all dharmas, discern all dharmas, discriminate all dharmas, and then hold them in recollection without forgetting.
Only after the mind consciousness has determination can it remember: upon contacting a person, it can remember that person; upon discerning a kind of flower, it can remember that kind of flower, remembering what flowers it has seen, at what time, in what place, what the scene was like, what state the flower was in. After the mind consciousness has determination, it can remember. The stronger the determination, the firmer the memory. When the power of determination is weak — for example, upon contacting a kind of flower, if there is no concept in the mind — afterward one may think and think but cannot figure it out; the memory is weak, or there is no memory.
For example, an animal, having no determination regarding human affairs, will have no memory of human affairs. For example, a dog likes feces, but its owner tells it that stuff is dirty and cannot be eaten; since it does not understand the concept and content of "dirty," having no determination, it may still try every possible way to eat feces — it has no memory regarding this matter. For example, a small child whose power of determination is weak has weak memory; things done, people and things experienced, are not remembered clearly — the memory is weak. After growing up, trying to recall events from ages one, two, or three, many things cannot be recalled.
Why? Because at that time, as a child, one was unfamiliar with everything, had not contacted many people and things, did not know so many terms and concepts; one's power of determination was weak, and with weak determination, memory is not firm. One cannot recall events from very early childhood, cannot remember the things of that time. Children rarely recall; the elderly, the older they get, the more they love to recall — they recall the affairs of this whole life, the events experienced every year and every month. Therefore, having the mental factor of determination, one has the mental factor of mindfulness; one can very clearly and distinctly remember all the people, matters, and things one has experienced. So when reading an article, the more one understands it, the easier it is to remember and recite; without understanding, one must rote-memorize, which is very distressing.
Does the Ālayavijñāna have the mental factor of mindfulness? As just explained, because the Ālayavijñāna has no power of determination, He does not correspond to any of the six sense objects, does not face them; thus He has no determination, does not understand the six sense objects, is not clear about them; therefore He also cannot remember events that occur. All the people, matters, things, and principles experienced by the six consciousnesses — He does not know them, does not understand them; therefore He has no memory, does not recollect, does not recall. Although He can store the events experienced by the six consciousnesses as karmic seeds, this is not His own direct remembering and thinking; therefore the Ālayavijñāna has no mental factor of mindfulness.
"此识昧劣。不能明记。" Because His power of wisdom regarding the six sense objects is extremely inferior, He cannot discriminate the six sense objects, and thus does not understand them; therefore He has no memory, cannot remember the six sense objects, and thus cannot recollect the six sense objects. The Ālayavijñāna fundamentally cannot discern the six sense objects; He has no memory. Just like a flower before one — He fundamentally cannot see it, does not know the flower exists; of course He cannot remember the flower, and cannot be mindful of the flower.
A person is right in front — He cannot see them; how could He remember this person? How could He keep this person in mind? The sounds of wind and birds outside — He cannot hear them, does not know there are sounds of wind and birds; how could He remember the sounds of wind and birds and keep them in mind? Within His mind He does not even have the concepts of these sounds of wind and birds. Although these sounds of wind and birds are all produced and manifested by Him, He has no such concepts; therefore He also cannot understand the sounds of wind and birds, will not remember these sounds, and cannot recollect these sounds. Therefore the Ālayavijñāna has no mental factor of mindfulness.
The fourth mental factor is the mental factor of meditative concentration (samādhi). What is concentration? The Cheng Weishi Lun says: "定能令心专注一境。" The meaning is that being able to focus the mind on a single state is called concentration — the mind settled on one state without wavering, always adhering to one state, without a second, third, or fourth state. Perhaps dwelling on a second state is relatively slight, with little perception, but still one state is primary. The mind settled on one state, focused on one state: "focused" means exclusively, "concentrated" means pouring; pouring the entire consciousness exclusively into one state is called concentration.
Who has concentration? All the minds of the six consciousnesses can have concentration, being able to concentrate all the mind's power, attention, and energy on one state to discriminate and discern it. This requires training for attention to be concentrated; some people can have concentration without special dedicated training — that is wholesome roots from cultivation in past lives. Sometimes when a person feels a certain matter is extremely important, this person cannot consider other matters, because the matter is too important; he has no choice but to settle his mind on this one state, to discern and deliberate with focus, utterly unable to let go.
For example, some people with neurological illnesses are extremely fixated on certain matters, their minds constantly on this one thing, utterly unable to disperse their attention. To treat this condition, one must find ways to disperse their attention, guide their attention to other aspects, make them interested in other things, disperse their attention — then their mental state can become more normal.
Therefore the mental factor of concentration is the mind's power of focus, a functional nature possessed by the six consciousnesses. Concentration is mainly the concentration with the mind consciousness as primary; the five sense consciousnesses also have concentration, and can also focus without distraction; all six consciousnesses can focus on one state without distraction. If meditative concentration is cultivated well, the mind becomes increasingly subtle, able to induce the arising of wisdom, and at the same time the feelings of the physical body are very comfortable, and body and mind become smooth and joyful.
Does the seventh consciousness have the mental factor of concentration? For those who have not attained profound meditative concentration, who have not transformed consciousness into wisdom, the seventh consciousness has no mental factor of concentration, because the seventh consciousness certainly adheres to all the six sense objects; apart from the six sense objects, it can also adhere to the mental objects (dharmas); whatever the eighth consciousness manifests, the seventh consciousness adheres to. Its range of grasping is rather broad, so it cannot settle down and cannot focus on a single state. However, through cultivating concentration, the seventh consciousness can also be trained to reduce grasping, reduce attachment, so that it does not grasp everywhere. If it does not grasp everywhere but adheres only to very few mental objects, the minds of the six consciousnesses can settle in one place without distraction. When bodhisattvas cultivate to a certain degree, upon attaining the bhūmis, the seventh consciousness, the manas, may then have the mental factor of concentration. The seventh consciousness at the Buddha-ground is completely associated with concentration, having the mental factor of concentration and the five object-specific mental factors.
The Ālayavijñāna has no mental factor of concentration. The Cheng Weishi Lun says: "此识任运，刹那别缘。" "This consciousness" is the Ālayavijñāna. "Operating spontaneously" means naturally operating according to conditions; He has not a single mental thought, mental activity, plan, opinion, or idea of His own; He does not act as a master, but simply operates naturally according to some mechanism, according to fixed principles, operating thus by nature. "This consciousness operates spontaneously, adhering to different objects at every instant" — He adheres to other dharmas everywhere, instant after instant, following conditions, and cannot settle in one place. If He settled in one place, then other dharmas could not arise and could not be upheld.
The Ālayavijñāna has several "pervasions": He pervades all places, pervades all times, pervades all dharmas, pervades all realms, pervades all grounds. If the Ālayavijñāna were made to settle on one state, then He could not uphold and manifest other states — what would happen to those other states? They would disappear. If the Ālayavijñāna does not adhere to and maintain some state, does not give birth to it, that state will disappear. Therefore, every single dharma of the six sense objects has the Ālayavijñāna upholding it, and only then can those dharmas exist and operate. Once the Ālayavijñāna stops attending to them and abandons them, all those states will disappear. Therefore the Ālayavijñāna has no mental factor of concentration and cannot settle in one place.
For example, the Ālayavijñāna manifests visual forms for us, adhering to form objects. If the Ālayavijñāna concentrated only on one visual form and did not adhere to other dharmas, then what about sounds? He could not manifest sounds, and then we could not hear sounds. The dharmas He does not manifest cannot be born; even if born, they would disappear and cease to exist. Then how could our six consciousnesses exist and operate? The six consciousnesses would have no way to operate and could not discern the six sense objects. Therefore the Ālayavijñāna cannot possibly focus on only one state; He must simultaneously adhere to the eighteen realms (aṣṭādaśa-dhātu), with His presence in every realm, and His presence in every one of the twelve entrances (dvādaśa-āyatana). Moreover, His presence is in every single dharma of the world; He must adhere to all of them.
For example, when our eyes see forms, we can see ten kinds of forms — ten forms before us, twenty forms, a hundred forms — and all one hundred of these forms require the Ālayavijñāna's operation and maintenance; otherwise those forms could not exist and we could not see them. Since the Ālayavijñāna pervades all dharmas, His operation should be present in every dharma. There may be ten, twenty, thirty, a hundred forms; the sounds we hear — who knows how many kinds of sounds there are all around; the odors around us — who knows how many kinds; the tactile objects on our bodies are even more numerous — who knows how many kinds of tactile objects.
In every one of these dharmas there is the Ālayavijñāna, maintaining and upholding them, so that each dharma can exist normally and operate, so that we can discern them and live a normal life. Therefore it is impossible for the Ālayavijñāna to focus on a single state; otherwise He would not pervade all places, all times, all realms, the five aggregates, and all dharmas. Therefore the eighth consciousness has no mental factor of concentration.
The last of the five object-specific mental factors is the mental factor of wisdom (prajñā). This mental factor of wisdom we understand as having the nature of wisdom; because there is wisdom, one can perform all kinds of discernment, weighing, and selection. So-called discernment means being able to discriminate, distinguish, and select — knowing and understanding whether this person, matter, thing, or principle is good or bad, whether that person, matter, thing, or principle is right or wrong, and how to act so as to be beneficial without harm — all of which can be discriminated and judged. Only with wisdom can one make such discriminations and judgments; without wisdom, one cannot discriminate, judge, choose, or discern.
For example, when seeing forms, one can discern which form is better, more to one's liking — discriminating it out — and then make selections regarding forms. With deeper wisdom, one can further make subtle discriminations of these forms, analyzing and judging the form's source, the form's essence, the form's constituent materials, the form's composition, the form's processing and manufacture — all of these can be known. This is wisdom, and therefore there is the nature of discernment and selection: judging this thing good and that thing bad; this person good and that person bad; this principle right and that principle wrong; having a certain degree of thinking, analysis, judgment, and discernment toward all dharmas — this is called wisdom.
"Virtue" (德) means virtue-capacity and function; with wisdom there is virtue; without wisdom, the mind being rather inferior and weak, there is no virtue. When wisdom is inferior, there is foolishness; foolishness is not called wisdom, and then there is no capacity for discernment. A foolish person cannot distinguish anything — good and bad, big and small, high and low, up and down — all unclear; then he cannot make correct discernments, nor survive normally. Having the mental factor of wisdom, one has a certain capacity for discernment, able to discriminate and judge right and wrong, wholesome and unwholesome, correct and incorrect, high and low, big and small, and all other dharmas.
The six consciousnesses certainly have the mental factor of wisdom, because the six consciousnesses can discriminate and distinguish, can discern; the mind consciousness can also perform analysis, judgment, imagination, thinking, contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), and various other mental activities. The six consciousnesses know the wholesomeness and unwholesomeness, right and wrong, correct and incorrect, good and bad of the six sense objects; thus the mental factor of wisdom is primarily that of the sixth consciousness. The wisdom of the sixth consciousness constantly undergoes increase and decrease — sometimes wisdom is strong, sometimes wisdom is inferior — which is also related to karmic conditions. Especially for those of us who study the Mahāyāna Dharma, after understanding and realizing the tathāgatagarbha dharma, the wisdom of the sixth consciousness can become increasingly vast and increasingly deep and subtle, until transforming consciousness into wisdom, then possessing the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only (vijñāna-bīla-jñāna), and finally attaining the ultimate, unsurpassed, profound wisdom, unmatched in heaven above and earth below.
Of course, studying the Hīnayāna liberation dharma also has the wisdom of Hīnayāna liberation: the wisdom of suffering, origination, cessation, and the path will arise, as well as the wisdom of non-arising and the wisdom of exhaustion, and one will have a certain power of discernment regarding the dharma of liberation — knowing to what degree this dharma can be cultivated, to what degree that dharma can be cultivated, that this dharma is correct and that dharma is incorrect. Once wisdom arises, one has a certain power of discernment. Then, studying the Mahāyāna dharma, the mind consciousness has even more wisdom, involving a broader and deeper range of Buddha-dharma.
After seeing the mind and seeing the nature, one has further understanding and determination regarding the Ālayavijñāna, and a strong power of discernment regarding all dharmas — knowing that this dharma can enable people to see the mind and see the nature, that dharma cannot; knowing that this dharma expounds the nature of the eighth consciousness, that dharma expounds the falsity of worldly dharmas. The mind consciousness can have a certain power of discrimination, distinction, and discernment; the capacity to discern and judge the wholesomeness and unwholesomeness, right and wrong, and the degree, depth, and breadth of understanding of various principles — this is the virtuous function of the mental factor of wisdom.
The six consciousnesses have the mental factor of wisdom, and the seventh consciousness also has the mental factor of wisdom, only the seventh consciousness's wisdom is rather inferior and weak, its discriminating power not strong, because what it adheres to is too broad; without concentration, the mind cannot settle in one place; therefore its discriminating wisdom is feeble, unable to specifically discern what the six sense objects are, or what exactly are the mental objects produced by the eighth consciousness.
Then does the Ālayavijñāna have the mental factor of wisdom? The Cheng Weishi Lun says: "此识微昧，不能简择。" Here "obscure" (昧) means dull, dim-inferior, dim-coarse. The Ālayavijñāna also has a heavy dullness; toward the six sense objects He is not clear, does not understand, cannot discriminate, and cannot discern — this is because of the dim inferiority of His mind. "Subtly obscure" means that in the discrimination of the six sense objects, the Ālayavijñāna has no wisdom and no power of choice; He cannot make discernments regarding the six sense objects, does not know the good and bad, right and wrong, wholesome and unwholesome of the six sense objects, and lacks the capacity for choice regarding these dharmas; therefore He cannot assist the seventh consciousness only in doing good and not assist it in doing evil.
Although the Ālayavijñāna has no mental factor of wisdom — He cannot discriminate the right and wrong, wholesome and unwholesome, beautiful and ugly, big and small of the six sense objects — the Ālayavijñāna truly has great wisdom; His wisdom is too vast: the three-realm world, the worlds of the ten directions, He can all operate and manifest; His wisdom is unmatched. But why does He not have the mental factor of wisdom? As already said above: first, He does not correspond to the six sense objects; second, toward the six sense objects He has no determination, no desire, no mindfulness, and no concentration — of course He has no wisdom. Since He does not face the six sense objects, how could He discern the six sense objects? He cannot discern them, and thus cannot distinguish right and wrong, wholesome and unwholesome, big and small — these all belong to dharmas within the six sense objects, and toward them He has no power of discernment.
For example, the Ālayavijñāna can adhere to karmic seeds, and after adhering to karmic seeds, can create the universe, the faculties and body, and the material world according to those seeds — this is a manifestation of His great wisdom-nature. But even in these aspects He has no discernment; He will not say "I will create such a universe and material world and such sentient beings' faculties and bodies, and not create that kind of universe and material world and sentient beings' faculties and bodies"; He will not say "this is good, that is bad" — He has no capacity for choice. He merely creates all dharmas spontaneously according to karmic seeds, creating the five-aggregate bodies, without making any choice whatsoever. But toward the six sense objects — forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and dharmas, right and wrong, good and bad, beautiful and ugly, wholesome and unwholesome — He has no power of discernment; He cannot discern, cannot analyze, and thus cannot judge. Therefore the Ālayavijñāna has no mental factor of wisdom.
The explanation of the five object-specific mental factors ends here. Above, the reasons the Ālayavijñāna is not associated with the five object-specific mental factors have been explained, showing that He is not associated with the mental factor of desire — He has no desire; not associated with the mental factor of determination — toward the six sense objects He cannot have determination or understanding; not associated with the mental factor of mindfulness — He has no memory and cannot recollect; He has no mental factor of concentration and cannot focus on one state; He has no mental factor of wisdom, no capacity for discernment, and cannot make choices. Our minds of the six consciousnesses constantly make discernments: what this dharma is like, what that dharma is like, whether this dharma is right or wrong, deep or shallow, broad or narrow — the sixth consciousness constantly makes these discernments. Then it also makes such choices: I will study this and not that; I will cultivate this dharma and not that dharma — because it has the power of discernment.
Therefore, when a Buddhist practitioner cultivates to a certain degree, he has the wisdom of discernment, has the dharma-selecting eye, knowing this dharma is right and that dharma is wrong, that he should cultivate this dharma and should not cultivate that dharma — this shows he already has the dharma-selecting eye and a certain power of choice. Without cultivating to a certain degree, one has no dharma-selecting eye, and thus no wisdom in the study and cultivation of the Buddha-dharma; he cannot distinguish which dharma is correct and which is not; he cannot choose what he should study and what he should not study; he can only follow conditions — whatever dharma he encounters, he studies it, regardless of right or wrong, drifting along with it in study. Therefore, when sentient beings have not yet cultivated to the point of having wisdom and the power of choice, they cannot make discernments and can only follow conditions and karmic force in studying the Buddha-dharma.
Among the fifty-one mental factors of the eight consciousness-kings, apart from the five universal and five object-specific mental factors, there are also eleven wholesome mental factors: faith, vigor, shame, remorse, non-greed, non-hatred, non-delusion, tranquility, diligence, equanimity of action, and non-harm — these are the eleven wholesome mental factors. There are also twenty-six afflictive mental factors, which are many: six root afflictions — greed, hatred, delusion, conceit, doubt, and wrong view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi); twenty derivative afflictions — rage, resentment, concealment, vexation, envy, miserliness, deceit, flattery, harm, arrogance, shamelessness, non-remorse, restlessness, torpor, non-faith, laziness, non-diligence, forgetfulness, distraction, and non-introspection. There are also four mental factors that are not necessarily wholesome and not necessarily unwholesome — sometimes wholesome, sometimes unwholesome: regret, sleep, initial application (vitarka), and sustained examination (vicāra).
The Ālayavijñāna is not associated with any of these mental factors, meaning that the Ālayavijñāna has no wholesome mental factors — He does not create good; the Ālayavijñāna also has no defiled mental factors — He does not create evil. Therefore He has none of the eleven wholesome mental factors, none of the twenty-six afflictive mental factors; He will not manifest afflictions and is not stained by them. The Ālayavijñāna also does not have the four mental factors of indeterminate wholesomeness and unwholesomeness; He has no regret, no sleep, no initial application, no sustained examination. These mental factors all do not correspond to the Ālayavijñāna; the Ālayavijñāna does not have these mental factors, only the five universal mental factors. It was just said that He lacks the five object-specific factors; now to supplement: He also lacks the eleven wholesome mental factors, lacks the afflictive mental factors, lacks the indeterminate mental factors, and has only the five universal mental factors.
The Ālayavijñāna has no nature of wholesomeness or unwholesomeness; He neither creates good nor creates evil, and thus He lacks these wholesome and defiled mental factors. Why does He lack them? The Cheng Weishi Lun says: "此识唯是异熟性故。" The eighth consciousness is only of the nature of ripening (vipāka): ripening wholesome and unwholesome karmic seeds, realizing the karmic results of wholesome and unwholesome deeds, keeping sentient beings continuing without interruption, keeping karmic results from perishing. Therefore He Himself cannot have other mental factors and cannot have a nature of wholesomeness or unwholesomeness; otherwise He could not be perfumed by wholesome and defiled dharmas, and could not realize the karmic results of wholesome and unwholesome deeds.
The nature of the Ālayavijñāna is solely the nature of ripening. What is the nature of ripening? It means that the eighth consciousness can make sentient beings' karmic seeds manifest at different times, in different places, and in different categories, and ripen at different times, in different places, and in different categories. That is to say, when sentient beings' seven consciousnesses create karmic actions, the Ālayavijñāna stores the seeds instant after instant, records the karmic actions, and when conditions mature, outputs the karmic seeds to realize the beings' karmic cause and result. Therefore the Ālayavijñāna is uninterrupted; if He were interrupted even once, then the karmic actions created by the six consciousnesses could not be recorded by Him, and He could not store the karmic seeds; if He did not store the karmic seeds, then the future karmic results would be in question, and sentient beings' deeds would have no karmic results. Furthermore, if He were interrupted, sentient beings could not exist either, and all dharmas would vanish.
Because the Ālayavijñāna is uninterrupted, He can record all of sentient beings' bodily, verbal, and mental actions, storing the seeds. After storing the seeds, He can make these seeds ripen at different times, ripen in different categories, ripen in different places, letting these seeds realize karmic cause and result at another time, in another place, on another type of retributive body — this is called the nature of ripening. He can make the karmic seeds created by sentient beings ripen at different times and arise at different times, letting sentient beings' karmic results be realized at different times, in different categories, in different places — this is the nature of ripening.
Therefore the Ālayavijñāna's mental factors are only the five universal mental factors; He has no five object-specific mental factors, no wholesome mental factors, and no unwholesome mental factors. That is to say, the Ālayavijñāna neither creates good nor creates evil, but He also does not create neutral (avyākṛta) karmic actions of worldly dharma, such as eating, dressing, walking, driving, and other such neutral karmic actions. In short, of the fifty-one mental factors, all correspond to the sixth consciousness, some correspond to the first five consciousnesses, but none correspond to the Ālayavijñāna; the Ālayavijñāna has only the five universal mental factors.
The mental factors of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses and the first five consciousnesses can be transformed in the process of cultivation, upon cultivating to a certain degree. At the third fruit of the śrāvaka, the afflictive mental factors such as craving and hatred among the mental factors disappear; at the fourth fruit, the afflictive mental factors such as conceit of self also disappear; at the first bhūmi bodhisattva stage, when the sixth and seventh consciousnesses initially transform consciousness into wisdom, the mental factors undergo obvious changes: the manas's view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), self-delusion, self-conceit, and self-greed — these four mental factors are gone; the manas's original eighteen mental factors are reduced by quite a few, and the wholesome mental factors increase. Of course, although the manas is now associated with wholesome mental factors, it is still not ultimate, and the wholesome nature still needs further strengthening.
And the manas's mental factor of wisdom must also be strengthened and enlarged, because it is gradually becoming associated with the mental factor of concentration; and because the manas has initially reached the untainted and has initially transformed consciousness into wisdom, it has a certain power of determination regarding some dharmas, and also has the power of mindfulness, only not yet perfect, not yet ultimate and thorough — including that it will also have a certain mental factor of desire, only not as obvious and strong as the mind consciousness's mental factor of desire. These contents are very deep and subtle, difficult for bhūmi-aspiring bodhisattvas to observe, because there is still taint in their minds, ignorance is still heavy, and the mind consciousness and manas have not yet transformed consciousness into wisdom.
The afflictive mental factors of the mind consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses are also greatly reduced: among the six root afflictions, greed, hatred, conceit, doubt, and wrong view are severed and gone, leaving only a trace of afflictive ignorance deliberately retained, not severed, for the sake of retaining afflictions to moisten future birth. Of course, the mind consciousness still has dharma-love and dharma-greed for the tathāgatagarbha dharma not severed, its doubt regarding the tathāgatagarbha dharma not fully severed, and the elevated afflictions of beginningless ignorance not severed; but the mind consciousness's twenty derivative afflictions are all severed and gone; the mind consciousness's indeterminate mental factors have transformed into wholesome mental factors, with no unwholesome ones — of course, the transformation is not yet ultimate or thorough.
Volume Five of the Cheng Weishi Lun says that at the stage of transformed basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti), the manas's mental factors correspond with twenty-one mental factors. After first-bhūmi bodhisattvas transform consciousness into wisdom, the manas's mental factors become somewhat associated with the five object-specific mental factors, and also associated with the eleven wholesome mental factors, only the degree of association is not yet thorough or perfect — but the mental factors have definitely changed. Therefore, when discussing mental factors, one must specify the mental factors of sentient beings at what stage of cultivation: the mental factors of ordinary sentient beings, the mental factors of noble ones of the third fruit and above, the mental factors of bhūmi-attained bodhisattvas, the mental factors of a Buddha, the mental factors of the eighth consciousness, or the mental factors of the undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna) — all of these must be specified, and then students can clearly understand in their minds.
Not all sentient beings' mental factors are the same, because sentient beings' afflictions differ greatly, and their wisdom-natures also differ greatly, so their mental factors will differ. Bhūmi-attained bodhisattvas have already severed the manifestation of afflictions, so the afflictive mental factors no longer manifest; moreover, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have already initially transformed consciousness into wisdom, so the mental factors must certainly have undergone transformation.
Mental factors are the attendants of consciousness, manifesting and operating in accompaniment with consciousness — like a staff for the consciousness; consciousness must rely on mental factors to operate and function, just as a lame person must rely on a crutch to walk. And the mental factors fundamentally have no seeds; as soon as a certain consciousness manifests, that consciousness operates in the form of mental factors — consciousnesses all operate in the form of mental factors. In the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Maitreya Bodhisattva says that mental factors operate in accompaniment with consciousness and are the attendants of consciousness. Mental factors have no seeds; they are only manifested dharmas appearing in accompaniment with consciousness. The eighth consciousness does not store the seeds of mental factors, nor do the other consciousnesses store the seeds of mental factors.
What the manas and the eighth consciousness correspond to is not necessarily the six sense objects, but as long as these two consciousnesses manifest and operate, mental factors operate. When the manas has afflictive mental factors, while the manas's five universal mental factors are manifesting, the afflictive mental factors may sometimes operate simultaneously — several mental factors may operate simultaneously.
