The Deliberative Cognition of the Eight Consciousnesses

All eight consciousnesses are deliberating minds (缘虑心); all can deliberate and all possess the mental factor of volition (思心所). The eye consciousness, cognizing form, has the nature of discrimination, of knowing, and of selective examination; the ear consciousness, cognizing sounds, has the nature of discrimination, of knowing, and of selective examination; the nose consciousness, cognizing scent-objects, has the nature of discrimination, of knowing, and of selective examination; the tongue consciousness, cognizing taste-objects, has the nature of discrimination, of knowing, and of selective examination; the body consciousness, cognizing touch-objects, has the nature of discrimination, of knowing, and of selective examination; the mind consciousness, cognizing mental sense-objects, has the nature of discrimination, of knowing, and of selective examination; and the manas, cognizing the totality of the six sense-objects and the perceiving-aspect of the eighth consciousness, has the nature of discrimination, of knowing, and of deliberation (manana). The eighth consciousness, cognizing the faculties and the body, the material world, karmic seeds, and the actions of the seven consciousnesses, has the nature of discrimination and of selective examination. Thereafter all dharmas begin to move and turn—arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing—and the five aggregates blaze fiercely.