The Heedlessness of the Seventh Consciousness

Modern people are too attached to worldly affairs, which is why they perceive everything in the world as pleasant. Those whose minds are not weary of the world are all like this; they fail to see the suffering and dark aspects of the world precisely because their craving and attachment are heavy. Whether the human mind is inclined toward the mundane or detached from it is expressed in speech, yet one remains unaware of it. Because sentient beings are attached to worldly affairs, their six sense faculties and six consciousnesses are all indulgent. The indulgence of eye consciousness is to gaze freely at forms; the indulgence of ear consciousness is to listen freely to sounds; the indulgence of nose consciousness is to favor fragrances and dislike foul odors; the indulgence of tongue consciousness is to crave delicious flavors; the indulgence of body consciousness is to seek comfort and ease; the indulgence of mental consciousness is distraction, dullness, and restlessness; the indulgence of the mental faculty is to grasp and cling everywhere. The six faculties of Arhats are never indulgent; they absolutely do not look, listen, smell, taste, or touch arbitrarily, nor does their mental consciousness engage in disordered thinking.

Some people are always fond of eating and drinking, craving delicious flavors—that is the joint indulgence of tongue consciousness and mental consciousness. Some people are always fond of smelling fragrances—that is the joint indulgence of nose consciousness and mental consciousness. Some people are always fond of wearing fine clothes, sleeping on comfortable beds, and seeking comfort in all things—that is the joint indulgence of body consciousness and mental consciousness. Some people are always fond of recalling the past and grasping at the future—that is the indulgence of the conscious mind. Some people are always fond of grasping at everything—that is the indulgence of the mental faculty. Learn from our eighth consciousness: it has no preferences whatsoever, the mind abides constantly in stillness, without moments of greed, moments of hatred, moments of delusion, without self-view, nor does it act as the master. It dwells in accordance with conditions, yet there is no day to dwell.