The Driving Role of the Five Universal Mental Factors of the Manas

Feeling a vague force compelling one to stir the mind and give rise to thoughts, and then delusive thoughts are born—what mysteries lie in all this? The feeling is the sensation of the mind consciousness; the vague force belongs to the manas. He is engaging in attention (manaskāra) and clinging to mental objects (dharma-āyatana), giving rise to the volitional mental factor (cetanā). The eighth consciousness, in accordance with the manas's volitional mental factor, gives rise to the mind consciousness. Once the mind consciousness discriminates mental objects, thoughts appear.

Thoughts of the mind consciousness arise only upon contacting and knowing objects; they are the result of discriminating objects. The manas also conditions this object; otherwise, the mind consciousness could not arise. At this time, the manas and the mind consciousness condition the same object. The manas cannot discriminate specifically; only the mind consciousness can discriminate. Thus, the manas must engage in attention, contact, feeling, perception, and volition toward this object, and it possesses a faint discriminating wisdom. Among these, attention is easy to understand, contact is also easy to understand, feeling is receiving and apprehending—also easy to understand, and perception is grasping and seizing marks—also easy to understand. The last one, volition, carries the meanings of choosing, deciding, and acting, as well as deliberating and weighing. What exactly the specific mental activities are within it is rather difficult to understand; the volition of the manas is the most mysterious.

The specific wisdom (viniyata-prajñā) of the manas does not manifest at all times (except for the manas of Buddhas and bodhisattvas at certain bhūmis); it can only arise on particular occasions, which is why it is called "specific objects" (viniyata). The five universal mental factors, however, must arise at all times; they are the companions of the manas, operating alongside it in every instant. The operation of the manas is precisely the operation of the mental factors; one cannot find a time when the manas exists yet the five universal mental factors are not operating.

Grasping (upādāna) is the function of the perception mental factor (saṃjñā); its role is to discriminate marks, seize marks, and then name the marks. Once there are names, verbal designations (prajñapti) appear, and one acknowledges the marks and names. Only after the manas has seized the marks can it deliberate and decide how to act. Of course, the five universal mental factors must operate repeatedly before a final overall decision can be made, after which action can be taken. Therefore, when one sees a person hesitating, one knows that the mind consciousness and the manas are deliberating, continuously engaging in attention, contact, feeling, perception, and volition. The mental factors operate in turn, and the five specific mental factors also participate in the operation—it is extremely complex. Thus, the human brain is countless times more complex than a computer; a computer simply cannot be compared with the human brain. The so-called brain mainly refers to the functions of the manas, with the six consciousnesses being secondary.