Do the mind king (citta) and the mental factors (caittas) each have their own mode of activity (ākāra)?

The operational characteristics of the mind king (citta) are manifested in the flowing forth and operation of the seeds of consciousness, while the operational characteristics of the mental factors (caittas) are manifested in the wholesome mental factors, the unwholesome mental factors, and the mental factors that are neither wholesome nor unwholesome, as well as in the five universal mental factors and the five object-specific mental factors. These mental factors are not carried over from the seeds of consciousness and are not of one substance with the seeds of consciousness; each has its own operational characteristics. Yet they can merge together perfectly, cooperating seamlessly.

Among the mental factors of the mind king, the operation of the five universal mental factors and the five object-specific mental factors is not easy to distinguish from the operation and flowing forth of the seeds of consciousness. Even so, the two are not of one substance; each has its own operational characteristics. This is because the mental factors must constantly change: not only can they increase and decrease, they can also become more perfected. Their operation and the operation of the seeds of consciousness still have some differences, and these differences are extremely difficult to distinguish and observe. Even if one observes them, they are not easy to express in language.

For example, take the samādhi mental factor among the five object-specific mental factors: the mind king can settle down and meditative concentration (samādhi) appears. This concentration can increase, and it can also decrease and disappear; the samādhi mental factor is constantly changing. These changes are certainly not carried over from the seeds of consciousness; they come from another place—for instance, they are carried over from karmic seeds and appear along with the karmic seeds. If the mental factors are mixed together with the karmic seeds, then the mental factors have a certain continuity between past and future lives. For example, for someone who cultivated meditative concentration in a past life, if they cultivate concentration a little in this life, the samādhi mental factor will easily manifest. Although the mental factors are related to karmic seeds, the mental factors do not have separate seeds of their own; they are bound together with the seeds of the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of past lives.

Take another example: the determination (adhimokṣa) mental factor, the mindfulness mental factor, and the desire mental factor. Each mental factor undergoes variation; the mental factors are not fixed—they can increase, decrease, and undergo variation. This does not come out together with the seeds of consciousness; it is also related to karmic seeds, yet there are no separate karmic seeds for them. The content here is extremely profound.

For example, the wisdom mental factor among the five object-specific mental factors is certainly subject to continual increase or continual decrease through the perfuming of the environment; it is constantly undergoing variation. But the seeds of consciousness of the mind king do not vary; the seeds of consciousness themselves are forever pure as they are. The only difference lies in whether the flowing forth of the seeds is concentrated or dispersed.

When the seeds of consciousness flow forth, they form the substance of the mind king. The substance of the mind king is pure, because the seeds of consciousness are pure. The seeds of consciousness have no defiled nature, nor any wholesome or unwholesome nature; but when they conjoin with the mental factors and operate in the form of the mental factors, wholesome, unwholesome, and neither-wholesome-nor-unwholesome mental actions appear. Therefore, the mental actions of the eight consciousnesses as mind kings and the mental actions of the mental factors are in fact one and the same: the mental factors are the mental actions of the mind king. When the eight consciousnesses as mind kings operate, they operate in the form of the mental factors—especially in the form of the five universal mental factors.

In the first chapter of the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Bodhisattva Maitreya states that the five universal mental factors are the aides and companions of the mind king. Whenever the mind king operates, it must take the five universal mental factors as its aides and companions; without the five universal mental factors, the mind king cannot operate—this is what is said in Volume One of the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra. For example, before a seed of consciousness is about to arise, there must be a location for its arising; the place where it will arise must be determined. For instance, if it is to arise upon the flower's color seen by the eye, after the manas determines this location, the seed of consciousness rushes forth and arises at the place of the flower's material sense-object at the supreme faculty; or it rushes toward the location of a certain sound and arises at the place where the sound sense-object appears at the supreme faculty, or arises at some other location that the manas is to discern. Therefore, before the seed of consciousness arises there is mental engagement (manaskāra): mental engagement means there is a direction of arising, a location of arising. Before the seed of consciousness has arisen, the mental engagement mental factor has already begun to operate. The operational characteristics of the mental factors and of the mind king merge together perfectly; their characteristics should be completely identical. On the surface, what is manifested is the operational characteristics of the mental factors, while the operational characteristics of the flowing forth of the seeds of consciousness of the mind king are hidden within. Although the two are identical, each has its own operational characteristics.

Furthermore, there is the volition (cetanā) mental factor, the last of the five universal mental factors. The final function of the volition mental factor is to engage in action. Once the volition mental factor has finished its action, it is as if the mind king has finished its action; when the action is complete, the conscious mind ceases or shifts its location, and then the mental factors also disappear. From this principle, the operational characteristics of the mind king and the mental factors are identical: their operations are twisted together, and the characteristics are manifested in the operational characteristics of the mental factors, with the operational characteristics of the flowing forth of the seeds of consciousness hidden within. They cannot be separated.