A Brief Discourse on the Essence of Consciousness

Chapter 11: The Mental Factors of the Six Consciousnesses (2)

Six: As stated in the Cheng Weishi Lun (Compendium on the Establishment of Consciousness-Only), the initial manaskāra (attention) mental factor of the six consciousnesses is not the manaskāra that occurs after the six consciousnesses have arisen; the same applies to the seventh consciousness. The manaskāra that occurs when the six sense objects (ṣaḍ-viṣaya) are first cognized must have begun with manaskāra first at the seed stage. After manaskāra at the seed stage, the consciousness seeds are then brought forth to form the consciousness, and the six consciousnesses begin to manifest. The arising of consciousness seeds must have a direction and a location, a target for arising; they cannot arise randomly without any aim. If that were the case, the manas's manaskāra would be useless. If the six consciousnesses cognized whatever dharmas they happened to encounter, then sentient beings' lives would surely be in utter chaos, and nothing could ever be accomplished. If there were no manaskāra at the seed stage, not directed toward any particular dharma, where would the consciousness seeds arise? The consciousness seeds must have a direction and location for arising, and this direction and location must be determined at the seed stage. Therefore, the manaskāra mental factor operates first at the seed stage.

The manaskāra mental factor of the manas, the seventh consciousness, likewise begins at the seed stage by generating manaskāra toward the six sense objects. After manaskāra, the mental factors of contact (sparśa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā) begin to operate toward the six sense objects. When the manas decides to cognize the six sense objects, the six consciousnesses arise in accordance. The consciousness seeds of the seventh consciousness also must have a location for arising; they do not arise randomly upon encountering whatever dharma. Otherwise, sentient beings' minds would be even more of a chaotic mess, with hardly any days of peace to be had.

The consciousness seeds of the six consciousnesses also must have a location for arising. If there were no manaskāra at the seed stage, the consciousness seeds would arise randomly and indiscriminately, the six consciousnesses would fall into disorder, and sentient beings would be at a loss. Therefore, the consciousness seeds must first have a location for arising: manaskāra occurs first at the seed stage, and then the seeds arise. After arising, the six consciousnesses directly contact the six sense objects. The sparśa mental factor operates after the consciousness has arisen. If the six consciousnesses cannot generate the final decisive mind, they will again generate manaskāra toward the six sense objects; this manaskāra is the manaskāra after the six consciousnesses have manifested, not the manaskāra at the seed stage.

Seven: The four indeterminate (aniyata) mental factors—remorse (kaukṛtya), sleep (middha), initial application (vitarka), and sustained examination (vicāra)—sometimes belong to wholesome mental factors and sometimes to unwholesome mental factors, depending on the specific circumstances, the results achieved, and the state at the time and the outcome toward which they are directed. If it is excessive craving for sleep, then sleep is an unwholesome mental factor, capable of inducing mental dullness and delusion; if sleep can regulate one's mental state and is beneficial to cultivation, then it belongs to the wholesome mental factors.

As for remorse: if a person constantly and unwisely regrets their past, regretting that they should not have acted as they did before, to the point of mental agitation, lacking meditative concentration, and not generating wisdom, then remorse is an unwholesome mental factor; if one has done evil deeds and can promptly repent, resolving not to commit them again, and after repentance the mind attains purity and meditative concentration and wisdom arise, then remorse is a wholesome mental factor.

As for initial application (vitarka): if the mind consciousness indiscriminately grasps at things everywhere, to the point of lacking meditative concentration and having a scattered mind, then vitarka belongs to the unwholesome mental factors; if the mind consciousness is contemplating and seeking a truth, such as investigating and searching for the eighth consciousness, then it belongs to the wholesome mental factors. As for sustained examination (vicāra): if the mind is examining worldly dharmas, the mind is unsettled, obstructing the arising of correct wisdom, then it belongs to the unwholesome mental factors; if it is for the purpose of understanding the true meaning of a Buddhist teaching, with a clear aim, engaging in focused and profound contemplation, then it belongs to the wholesome mental factors.

Eight: Mental factors are the auxiliary companions of consciousness; wherever there is consciousness, there are the five universal mental factors. Some mental factors, when the six consciousnesses arise and operate, do not necessarily manifest and operate; those are not called universal mental factors—they may be the five object-specific mental factors, or afflictive mental factors, or possibly wholesome mental factors; these mental factors do not manifest at all times. "Universal" means that wherever there is consciousness, these mental factors are present; the mental factors and consciousness accompany each other inseparably, and thus they are called universal mental factors. The five universal mental factors differ from the "universality" of the tathāgatagarbha. The five universalities of the tathāgatagarbha refer to the tathāgatagarbha's substance pervading the operation of all times, places, locations, realms, and dharmas; the operation of the tathāgatagarbha's substance is also accompanied by its own five universal mental factors.

Consciousnesses all operate in the form of mental factors. Mental factors have no seeds and are not generated from seeds; as soon as a particular consciousness manifests, that consciousness operates in the form of mental factors. Mental factors operate in accompaniment with consciousness; they are the auxiliary companions of consciousness. Mental factors have no seeds; the eighth consciousness does not store seeds of mental factors, nor do the other consciousnesses store seeds of mental factors. Mental factors have no seeds, just as ignorance (avidyā) also has no seeds, and just as the conditioned formations not associated with mind (citta-viprayukta-saṃskāra) also have no seeds.

Nine: The feeling of the aggregate of feeling (vedanā-skandha) is a mental factor of the six consciousness-minds, a functionality of the six consciousness-minds. It is actually the feeling that arises after consciousness contacts sense objects. The initial reception and acceptance mark is merely the acceptance of the six sense objects, still a coarse mark; only when it develops into feelings of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness does it become a subtle mark. The aggregate of feeling is not merely the initial feeling of consciousness contacting sense objects; the initial feeling is reception and acceptance, before the arising of pleasant or unpleasant feeling. The aggregate of feeling includes the receptive feeling and the later three kinds of feeling. Perception (saṃjñā) is not only cognition; it also has the function of grasping marks. The perception of the mind consciousness corresponds to designations (nāma). At the stage of perception there are also coarse and subtle marks: coarse cognition and subtle cognition and grasping of marks. Only after coarse and subtle cognition do the coarse and subtle feelings of the six consciousnesses arise.

The seeds of feeling stored in the tathāgatagarbha are not separate from the consciousness seeds. When the consciousness seeds operate, they are accompanied by the operation of the feeling mental factor; thus the consciousness-mind has the function of feeling. It is not the case that, apart from the consciousness seeds, there is a separate seed of feeling. The five universal mental factors have no seeds; they can only operate by depending on the consciousness-mind, being its auxiliary companions. When the consciousness seeds arise, the five universal mental factors simultaneously operate in accompaniment, depending on the consciousness-mind. Therefore, feeling has no separate seed, and perception also has no separate seed. After the seeds of the six consciousnesses arise and the consciousness-mind operates, the feeling and perception mental factors operate in accompaniment. The five universal mental factors are all like this; each of the eight consciousnesses has its own five universal mental factors.

In the process of cognition by the consciousness-mind, the five universal mental factors operate repeatedly, not ending after a single operation. Once they begin operating, their sequence is exchanged and reversed; the order is not fixed. Therefore, the feeling of the six consciousnesses does not end after one or two operations; it may operate countless times. The perception and volition mental factors are likewise. The manaskāra and sparśa mental factors operate relatively fewer times. The six consciousnesses can continuously direct manaskāra toward the six sense objects and continuously contact them without moving, while the feeling, perception, and volition mental factors must operate repeatedly, back and forth, before there can be a final decisive choice, and only then does the six consciousnesses' cognition of the six sense objects conclude. The operation of the mental factors is extremely subtle and can only be fully observed at the stage of Buddhahood.

Ten: At the stage of ordinary beings (pṛthagjana), the mind consciousness has fifty-one mental factors, with the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion complete. At the stage of the third fruit of the śrāvaka (anāgāmin), the mental factors of the mind consciousness decrease, with the greed and hatred mental factors gone. At the stage of transformation of the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti) after attaining the bhūmis, the afflictive mental factors of the mind consciousness further decrease, gradually transforming into wholesome ones. At the stage of Buddhahood, the mind consciousness has the five universal mental factors, the five object-specific mental factors, and eleven wholesome mental factors. Therefore, cultivation is the process of gradually changing the mental activities of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses; the mental activities and natures of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses are not immutable. So when speaking of mind, one must clarify whether it is the mental activity of an ordinary being, of a person with meditative concentration, of a worthy one (śaikṣa), of a noble one (ārya), or of a Buddha.

Eleven: The Five Object-Specific Mental Factors of the Five Consciousnesses

The first five consciousnesses have only the cognitive function of direct perception, not inference. The five universal mental factors always accompany the operation of the five consciousnesses, and the five object-specific mental factors sometimes also manifest and operate. The first five consciousnesses have the concentration (samādhi) mental factor. If the five consciousnesses had no concentration, the eye consciousness would attach to multiple objects, the ear consciousness to multiple objects, the nose consciousness to multiple objects, the tongue consciousness to multiple objects, and the body consciousness to multiple objects; the mind consciousness would surely follow and attach to multiple objects as well—would not the mind then be in great disorder? If the five consciousnesses had no concentration, the mind consciousness could not be concentrated either; the mind consciousness would inevitably follow the five consciousnesses in cognizing everywhere, easily leading to a mind tangled like hemp.

It is directly observable that the five consciousnesses can each become concentrated on one or two objects without scattering, cognizing in subtle detail, which shows that the five consciousnesses can have concentration and be in correspondence with concentration. If the six consciousnesses had no concentration, it would show that the manas is unconcentrated, because the five and six consciousnesses' attachment to objects is the result of the manas's主导 grasping; if the manas does not wish to see objects, the six consciousnesses cannot see them. Therefore, if the manas had no concentration and were not in correspondence with concentration, meditative concentration (dhyāna) could never exist, the four dhyānas and eight samādhis could not be cultivated, and people could only live in the human realm of the desire realm; there would be no sentient beings in the heavens.

The five consciousnesses have cognitive wisdom, capable of discriminating and confirming the five sense objects, capable of clear cognition and discrimination of them; therefore the five consciousnesses have the wisdom (prajñā) mental factor. When the wisdom of the five consciousnesses is strong, it is also brought forth by the concentration mental factor of the five consciousnesses—concentration giving rise to wisdom is precisely this principle. Similarly, the wisdom of the manas is mostly also brought forth by concentration, especially the wisdom after eradicating afflictions and transforming consciousness into wisdom, which is even more brought forth by the manas's concentration mental factor. Since the five consciousnesses can confirm what the five sense objects actually are, this shows the five consciousnesses have the determination (adhimokṣa) mental factor, capable of clearly understanding and determining the characteristics of the five sense-object dharmas.

The five consciousnesses' capacity to approach or avoid the five sense-object realms shows that the five consciousnesses have the desire (chanda) mental factor. For example, when the eye consciousness encounters soft colors, it actively approaches; when it encounters intensely glaring sunlight, it naturally avoids—this is the eye consciousness's desire mental factor. The ear consciousness desperately avoids harsh sounds, while toward gentle, soft music the mind yearns. The nose consciousness has an aversion to pungent odors, while toward warm fragrances it approaches the object and generates craving and attachment. The tongue consciousness actively seeks out and approaches delicious flavors, while desperately avoiding irritating tastes. The body consciousness approaches gentle and wonderful touches and generates craving and attachment, while urgently avoiding painful, adverse contacts. The above shows that the five consciousnesses have a weak desire mental factor, much weaker than the mind consciousness's desire mental factor, not obviously manifested and not easy to observe.

The five consciousnesses also have a certain degree of mindfulness (smṛti) toward previously experienced objects; because of this mindfulness, they can have the desire mental factor and can generate craving and attachment, not wishing to leave the object, clinging to it without letting go.

The five consciousnesses possess the five object-specific mental factors in full, only weakly; generally they manifest as the five object-specific mental factors of the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna), but upon subtle analysis, they can still be distinguished. On the whole, the manifestation and operation of the five consciousnesses are still controlled and determined by the manas, which makes the desire mental factor of the five consciousnesses appear even weaker and more obscure, concealed by the manas's manipulation and very difficult to detect.

Twelve: Apart from sense-object marks, consciousness cannot manifest. Therefore, when the fifty-one mental factors of the first seven consciousnesses operate, they must necessarily depend on certain sense-object marks. The first five consciousnesses can only depend on the object-aspects (nimitta) of the five sense objects, which belong to material-form dharma-objects (rūpa-dharma-viṣaya); what the sixth and seventh consciousnesses depend on includes both material-form dharma-objects and mental dharma-objects.

One of the conditions for the arising of the six consciousnesses is the contact of faculties and objects; the six sense objects are a necessary condition for the arising of the six consciousnesses. The condition for the operation of mental factors is that as long as a consciousness exists, the mental factors necessarily operate in accompaniment with the consciousness-mind; consciousness operates precisely in the form of mental factors. But the condition for the manas's arising and continued existence is having seeds of the three realms, having greed, desire, and vow-power. Although the manas has existed since beginningless kalpas, it has had the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, and ignorance, since beginningless kalpas, and therefore has never ceased.

What the first five consciousnesses depend on is the five material sense objects of form, sound, smell, taste, and touch, which do not belong to the dharma-objects of material form. What the sixth and seventh consciousnesses depend on as material-form dharma-objects are the dharma-objects on the five sense objects, as well as subjectively imagined realms, as well as mental dharma-objects—the eight consciousnesses and the mental factors of the eight consciousnesses—as well as dharma-objects that are neither material nor mental, such as the conditioned formations not associated with mind. The seventh consciousness also depends on the five sense-object realms, perceiving them simultaneously with the dharma-object realms.

Thirteen: The operation of the five universal mental factors begins with a certain sequence, but when the operation reaches a certain stage, its sequence changes. However it changes, it must conclude with the volition (cetanā) mental factor. Then the five universal mental factors operate again on other dharmas.

The five object-specific mental factors, however, have no fixed sequence of operation; the five mental factors do not necessarily all appear simultaneously or in sequence—perhaps one appears, perhaps two; it is not fixed. The higher a person's wisdom, the more frequently and extensively the five object-specific mental factors manifest. For bodhisattvas who have transformed consciousness into wisdom, the five object-specific mental factors manifest frequently, with a very high frequency of activity.

The more deluded sentient beings are, the less easily the five object-specific mental factors appear and operate. For bhūmi-level bodhisattvas who have subdued afflictions and transformed consciousness into wisdom, the five object-specific mental factors of their manas are very active and frequently appear; the manas's wisdom and power of determination are quite strong. Therefore, when bodhisattvas observe, judge, and make decisions, they often rely not only on the mind consciousness but also on the manas; often they do not much use the mind consciousness's surface-level thinking and analysis, but rather use the manas's deliberation (manasikāra) function more.

Fourteen: Do the Five Object-Specific Mental Factors Operate After the Feeling Mental Factor Among the Five Universal Mental Factors?

"Universal" means that whenever a consciousness-mind appears, the five universal mental factors necessarily operate in accompaniment with it. The consciousness-mind may lack other mental factors, but it must have the five universal mental factors accompanying it. The true meaning is this: for example, when two people meet, that is called contact; only afterward can there be cognition and feeling, and finally a decision and judgment. If they do not meet, one cannot cognize the other or decide other matters. Before meeting there is manaskāra, directing toward a certain place, and only then can they meet at that place. Cognition is like getting to know the other person; this is a process whose duration is not fixed. The eye seeing form also involves a process; one cannot immediately judge what the form is.

When the five universal mental factors operate, they first operate according to sequence; without sequence, how could they operate? If there were no sequence, then at the moment of the conjunction of faculty, object, and consciousness in contact, all matters would have their results immediately. But in reality, the great results—the final results—as well as the small, segmented results, all appear only after a period of time following contact; results do not arise merely from contact. Results are the decisive choice and the subsequent actions and formations.

Without contact, there is no subsequent acceptance and reception; without reception, there is no cognition; without cognition, there is no subsequent feeling; without the final decision, there is no subsequent mental activity. The five object-specific mental factors generally appear after the consciousness-mind's feeling mental factor, after the perception mental factor, or after the volition mental factor; it is not fixed at which specific stage they appear. Without manaskāra and contact, there is also no desire mental factor, no perception mental factor, and thus no determination mental factor, no mindfulness mental factor, and no wisdom mental factor. On the other hand, without the desire mental factor, there may be no manaskāra and contact either, and thus no five universal mental factors.

The concentration mental factor arises after the manaskāra, contact, and feeling mental factors; then one can become concentrated on the manaskāra, on the contact, on the feeling, on the perception, and only afterward can wisdom be born, with the final volition mental factor appearing. But it is also possible that the concentration mental factor comes first, becoming concentrated on one or two dharmas, and then the five universal mental factors operate—manaskāra, contact, feeling, perception, volition—or it is also possible that the concentration mental factor appears only after the volition mental factor.

On the whole, the five object-specific mental factors do not necessarily appear and operate at any particular stage of the five universal mental factors. Because the five universal mental factors operate in continuous cycles, they do not remain fixed at any single stage; if they remained at a certain stage, that would mean being concentrated there, and the consciousness-mind would have concentration.

With insufficient power of concentration and insufficient wisdom, and a mind that is not extremely refined, it is indeed not easy to observe the operation of the mental factors. The mental factors of any consciousness belong to the domain of the wisdom of consciousness-only seeds (vijñāna-bīja-jñāna).

Fifteen: Among the fifty-one mental factors, the wholesome mental factors, afflictive mental factors, and so on correspond not only to the mind consciousness but also to the manas. The dharma-objects that the mind consciousness depends on include material-form dharma-objects, mental dharma-objects, and also dharma-objects that are neither material nor mental—the twenty-four conditioned formations not associated with mind.

Material-form dharma-objects are related to material form; form is formed by the seeds of the four great elements, and what is related to the seeds of the four great elements belongs to material-form dharma-objects. What is related to consciousness seeds, to the eight consciousnesses, and to mental factors belongs to mental dharma-objects; everything else is dharma-objects that are neither material nor mental. When the mind consciousness depends on its own mental dharma-objects such as the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, this belongs to the mind consciousness's introspective function, its self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana). When the mind consciousness observes the mental factors of other consciousnesses, this belongs to the perceiving-aspect (darśana-bhāga) and self-cognition (svasaṃvitti); what is depended upon are all mental dharma-objects.

Sixteen: Question: The mental activity of fear often arises. Is fear a mental factor? Why is fear not listed among the hundred dharmas? When one feels fear within, is it the mind consciousness that fears or the manas that fears? Some fears are inexplicable, without cause—is it the manas that is afraid?

Answer: The mental activity of fear cannot be found among the fifty-one mental factors, because the mental factors of sentient beings are of numerous kinds; the fifty-one mental factors are only a rough categorization and do not include all mental factors, especially the extremely subtle ones. If all were included, there would be several hundred or more. The mental factors in the Mahāyāna Hundred Dharmas Treatise (Daśa-dhāraṇī-śata-dharma-prakāśa) are not complete; there are also gateways of a thousand dharmas, ten thousand dharmas, and a hundred million dharmas. Beyond the hundred-dharma gateway, there are extremely many dharmas not included. Therefore, fear is also a mental factor; it is merely that the hundred-dharma gateway did not summarize and categorize it. So in learning Buddhism and cultivating, we should not dogmatically assume that the dharmas we currently encounter are necessarily ultimate, unalterable, and inflexible.

When one thinks of people or things that cause fear, it is first the manas that thinks of them; only when it cannot figure things out, or when it wants to initiate some action, does it let the mind consciousness think in detail and react. Fear is divided into two levels. Shallow-level fear is the fear of the mind consciousness; it does not touch the root and does not cause physical and mental effects or consequences. Deep-level fear is the fear of the manas; when severe, it is called terror, with great inner turbulence and varying degrees of bodily reactions, causing changes in breath, blood circulation, and neural transmission, which in turn induce pathological changes in the limbs and internal organs. After falling asleep, if the manas senses that something has changed in the surrounding environment and feels fear and terror, it will prompt the six consciousnesses to wake up and find out exactly what frightening thing has occurred. When having a nightmare, the manas is extremely frightened and will make the mind consciousness wake up, no longer remaining in the nightmare.

The fear of the mind consciousness and the fear of the manas are different. The fear of the mind consciousness does not cause various physical conditions to arise, whereas fear in the manas produces bodily symptoms, such as trembling, a bad complexion, the heart contracting and pounding, blood flowing faster, and so on. Fear in the manas also has emotional reactions, such as tense expressions and inner anxiety. These symptoms indicate that it is the manas that is afraid. Fear only in the mind consciousness is not real fear and does not cause bodily reactions. The manas can control the transmitting nerves and direct the operation of the whole body, so when the manas's mental activity stirs, the whole body reacts accordingly; but when the mind consciousness stirs, it cannot move the whole body, because the neural transmission throughout the body is directed by the manas, not by the mind consciousness.

If the fear is inexplicable—if the mind consciousness feels afraid but does not know what it is afraid of, pondering over and over, "What am I afraid of?"—and still feels fear without knowing what it fears, then it is the fear of the manas. The manas's fear cannot be explained clearly to the mind consciousness; the mind consciousness does not understand, but simply knows it is afraid. That is the manas's fear—the fear deep within the heart is the fear of the manas.

Seventeen: The Relationship Between the Four Aspects of the Consciousness-Mind and the Five Universal Mental Factors

The four aspects of the consciousness-mind are the perceiving-aspect (darśana-bhāga), the object-aspect (nimitta), self-cognition (svasaṃvitti), and self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana). If the object-aspect perceived by the consciousness-mind is also the consciousness-mind itself, then all four aspects must rely on mental factors in order to operate, to have the functional role of seeing, to be called the perceiving-aspect, to see dharmas, and to see itself. Among these, the mental factors are primarily the five universal mental factors; not a single moment passes without the operation of the five universal mental factors. Without the five universal mental factors, the consciousness-mind cannot operate, and there would be no four aspects.

When the five universal mental factors operate, the consciousness-mind can contact dharmas, receive dharmas, recognize dharmas, and operate on dharmas; only then do the perceiving-aspect, object-aspect, self-cognition, and self-validating cognition manifest. At the same time the four aspects manifest, the five object-specific mental factors can be revealed, displaying wholesome, unwholesome, or neither-wholesome-nor-unwholesome mental natures. That is to say, when the four aspects appear, they appear together with the other mental factors, revealing the consciousness-mind's strength or weakness, its wholesome and unwholesome mental activities, and whether it possesses concentration and wisdom, and so forth.