The Relationship Between the Mental Sense-Object and the Five Material Sense-Objects

Question: Someone says that the mental sense-object (dharma-object) arises alone within the supreme faculty, and after the manas makes contact with it, the mind consciousness arises to discern the mental sense-object. Is this correct?

Answer: The mental sense-object within the supreme faculty is transmitted through the five sense faculties together with the outer five sense-objects, becoming the inner six sense-objects, which are available for the manas to contact and also for the six consciousnesses to discern simultaneously. The inner mental sense-object does not arise alone within the supreme faculty. If it did, the mental sense-object would have no connection with the five sense-objects; a mental sense-object arising alone would appear abrupt and unfounded, somewhat like fabrication, unable to reveal the nature and content of the five sense-objects, and the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses (pañcavijñāna-sahagata-manovijñāna) would likewise have no close relationship with the five sense consciousnesses.

After the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses discerns the mental sense-object and makes choices and judgments, it must convey information to the manas. The information about the five sense-objects discerned by the five sense consciousnesses is also conveyed to the manas together with the mind consciousness, because the manas is also the dominant condition (adhipati-pratyaya) for the arising of the five sense consciousnesses. Only when the manas decides to discern and process the five sense-objects can the five sense consciousnesses arise. Therefore, the actions and activities of the five sense consciousnesses must be directed by the manas, be accountable to the manas, and serve as reference for the manas.

The five sense-objects, together with the mental sense-object, combine to form the complete six sense-object realms of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas. What the five sense consciousnesses discern and process is the coarser portion of the six sense-objects, while what the mind consciousness discerns and processes is the subtler portion. The information from both coarse and subtle is conveyed to the manas; the manas simultaneously receives information about both coarse dharmas and subtle dharmas, and after its own solitary deliberation (manana), it makes its own judgment and choice regarding the six sense-objects as a whole.

For example, when going to a shopping mall to buy clothes and seeing garments of various colors, the manas will want to choose a garment whose color suits it. The eye consciousness and the mind consciousness then discern the clothing simultaneously: the eye consciousness discerns only color, while the mind consciousness discerns the mental sense-objects beyond color, including the style, material, and charm of the garment. After the information about the form sense-object and the mental sense-object is conveyed to the manas, the manas will deliberate on the color, style, and material, and then have the mind consciousness analyze and judge on its own which color—red or black—is more suitable, and which style is more appropriate. This falls within the scope of the solitary mental consciousness's work. The solitary mental consciousness then imagines the effect of wearing the garment on the body and conveys the results of its imagination and analysis to the manas. The manas deliberates and judges again, making its own decision. Finally, the several consciousnesses operate in concert, and the garment that satisfies the manas is purchased. The six consciousnesses have completed their service to the manas.

The manifest color (varṇa) that constitutes the color portion of the garment as a whole is the form sense-object discerned by the eye consciousness. All parts other than color—the shape, the expressive characteristics, and the non-expressive characteristics (saṃsthāna, vijñapti, and avijñapti)—are the mental sense-objects discerned by the mind consciousness. The two combine to constitute a garment. When the garment is produced and processed, the form sense-object and the mental sense-object exist simultaneously. When each person discerns it, the form sense-object and the mental sense-object are transmitted through the five sense faculties into one's own supreme faculty, forming the inner material sense-object and the inner mental sense-object, available for the eye consciousness and mind consciousness to discern. It is not the case that when the garment is produced there is only color without mental sense-object content such as style, material, length, width, size, and charm. If that were so, it would not be called a garment, there would be no need to use sewing and tailoring equipment to process the fabric, and there would be no such thing as fabric. Therefore, the mental sense-object is bound together with the five sense-objects; it is not produced alone within the supreme faculty.