The Mental Engagement (Manaskāra) of the Manas and Other Universal Mental Factors

The manas' mental engagement (manaskāra) arises in several ways: First, relying on its habitual tendencies and inertia, it habitually attends to certain dharmas that appear frequently and are relatively familiar, making mental engagement easy. Second, the manas may engage in aimless mental engagement, driven by its habitual tendency toward grasping and distraction. Third, the manas easily gives rise to mental engagement toward dharmas it finds interesting. Fourth, the manas easily gives rise to mental engagement toward major and important dharmas. Fifth, the manas gives rise to mental engagement because of craving and attachment to certain dharmas. Sixth, the manas gives rise to mental engagement due to afflictions such as anger and resentment. Seventh, the manas gives rise to mental engagement toward dharmas it needs. Eighth, the manas easily engages mentally toward dharmas that appear suddenly.

After the manas engages mentally, perhaps the mental factors of contact (sparśa), mental engagement (manaskāra), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā) do not emerge and operate; perhaps there is no volition mental factor, and the manas does not decide what to do; perhaps the perception mental factor does not emerge and operate, and the manas does not grasp at the object dharma; perhaps the feeling mental factor does not emerge and operate, and the manas does not wish to feel, having no interest in the object dharma. At the initial stage, when the preceding mental factor does not appear, there is no need for the subsequent mental factor to appear either.