Can solitary consciousness change external object-aspects?

The three transformative agencies of consciousness (parināma) can jointly give rise to all dharmas, and when conditions and karmic seeds ripen, they can also alter all dharmas when the causal conditions mature. However, to change the outer object-aspect (nimitta), one must change the karmic seeds, which requires the maturation of the conditions for changing karmic seeds. To change the outer object-aspect, whether through rapid short-term change or gradual long-term change, the two transformative agencies of consciousness—the seventh and sixth consciousnesses—must be extremely powerful, able to induce changes in the karmic seeds within the tathāgatagarbha; once the karmic seeds change, the outer object-aspect can be changed. If the seventh and sixth consciousnesses lack power, the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna) cannot play a role in changing the outer object-aspect, and the solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) in dreams is even less able to change it. What can quickly change the outer object-aspect must be the seventh and sixth consciousnesses in meditative concentration (samādhi); ideally, it is the solitary consciousness and the manas within samādhi. A scattered solitary consciousness, the consciousness accompanied by the five senses, and the manas are all incapable—they lack the power.

The solitary consciousness in dreams can hardly change the outer object-aspect, because the mind consciousness is extremely weak, or has no power at all, and there are no concrete karmic actions, so it cannot induce a transformation of karmic seeds, and the outer object-aspect cannot be changed. When awake, even if the solitary consciousness engages in wild, chaotic, and deluded imaginings, it still cannot change the outer object-aspect within a short period, because it is scattered and powerless. However, if the solitary consciousness can concentrate its mental energy on its imaginings, it becomes very powerful and may be able to quickly change the outer object-aspect. Relying on the thinking of the manas and the thinking of the solitary consciousness, without bodily or verbal actions, it can also change the karmic seeds, thereby changing the outer object-aspect. Therefore, mental thinking and mental activities are also karmic actions, and they carry karmic retribution.