The Functioning Process of the Five Universal Mental Factors of the Manas (3)

What determines which dharma the manas directs its attention (manaskāra) toward is a question discussed in the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra: it is determined by the manas's mindfulness, desire, habitual tendencies, habits, thoughts, interests, inclinations, plans, wishes, demands, and so forth, which give rise to the attention of the manas's own consciousness seeds. The attention of all six consciousnesses is aroused and determined by the manas. Whichever dharma the manas wishes to act upon and engage with, the seeds of the six consciousnesses within the tathāgatagarbha will have a direction in which to arise, with the intention to be born at that dharma-object—this is attention (manaskāra). Afterwards, the consciousness seeds will certainly arise upon that dharma.

After the manas directs its attention, whichever consciousness it may be must make contact with the corresponding dharma, because whichever dharma the consciousness seeds arise upon, that is the dharma they will contact; after contact, they will receive and take it in. For example, after the hand touches a ball, it accepts the ball, takes in the ball, and only then can there be sensation—that is, feeling—and after that, knowing. For example, when the eye faculty contacts material sense-objects, the material sense-object must first be received before it is known, and then it is grasped, giving rise to thoughts, plans, schemes, designs, and so forth. Only after grasping the material sense-object does feeling arise, and that feeling arises after perception. After feeling arises, deliberation (manasikāra) continues, followed by subtle discernment, making decisions and exercising dominion, wanting to decide how to handle it.

Before handling it, the manas must complete its grasping of this dharma; before grasping, it must discern it clearly; and it must first have feeling toward this dharma. After feeling, a decision will arise. This decision is the function of the mental factor of volition (cetanā). This decision is not necessarily the final one; it may be an immature, temporary decision. After further subtle discernment later, when one feels confident that everything has been discerned clearly, the final decision will be made, and then the operation of the seventh consciousness upon this dharma comes to an end.

Before the operation upon this dharma is thoroughly completed, the manas's mental factor of volition will continue to operate without interruption, until the discernment of this dharma is entirely finished. Then all the mental factors of volition and the five universal mental factors will also come to an end, and the mind will enter the operation of the next dharma, with the five universal mental factors continuing to run their new content. If this dharma has not ended, then contact, attention, feeling, perception, and volition will continue to operate in succession without interruption, feeding back and forth, constantly being revised. It is like when we look at something: at first we take it in; after accepting it, wanting to see it clearly, we proceed to discern it. At the very beginning we may not yet see it clearly, so there is continual contact, continual feeling, continual knowing; after knowing, the three kinds of feeling—pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral—arise, and then one grasps at the mark and makes a decision, and the six consciousnesses will then engage in karmic actions.