The Discriminative Nature of the Five Consciousnesses

The discerning capacity of the five consciousnesses: the five consciousnesses depend on the sixth consciousness in order to have their discerning capacity, and thereafter have simple discrimination and differentiation. For example, when the eye consciousness at first cannot see an object clearly, it must again direct attention (manaskāra), contact the material sense-object, again receive the material sense-object, again discriminate the material sense-object, and finally take up the mark of the material sense-object—only without verbal designation; then the mental factor of volition (cetanā) arises and performs the function of choice, deciding whether to accept and continue looking, or to avoid and not look. The eye consciousness can also feel simple feelings of pain and pleasure, but without emotional coloring, and not in a refined way. The ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, and body consciousness are all like this. Because the eye consciousness has the capacity for discrimination, when looking at an object one must look at it over and over, examining it carefully and meticulously, in order to make the final choice and judgment. Of course, this simultaneously involves the joint cooperative function of the mind consciousness; the five consciousnesses cannot discern the realms of the five sense-objects on their own, because the five consciousnesses can only discern the coarse portion of the five sense-objects; more of the content requires the cooperation of the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna) in discernment, in order to discern the complete five sense-objects.