The Seven Consciousnesses All Possess the Five Object-Specific Mental Factors

The five object-specific mental factors—desire (chanda), determination (adhimokṣa), mindfulness (smṛti), meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā)—are not only the key to accomplishing transcendental dharmas, but also the key to accomplishing worldly dharmas. The arising, abiding, alteration, and cessation of all dharmas are brought forth by these five object-specific mental factors; without them, no dharma could be accomplished. Take the mental factor of desire, for example: as long as sentient beings have something they seek or wish for—whether it concerns transcendental dharmas or worldly dharmas—it is a form of desire. These desires can induce the mental factors of attention (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā) in the eight consciousnesses. Once the mental factor of volition appears, what is desired and wished for will arise, grow, and perish. Among these, the desires that arise quickly and perish quickly, and that are easily influenced and conditioned by the environment, are the desires of the mind consciousness; whereas the deep-level desires, longings, hopes, and wishes that the mind consciousness cannot control or grasp, that are deeply rooted, are the desires of the manas. The five sense consciousnesses also have their own desires—the desire to have more contact and more attention directed toward the objects of the five sense-objects, also called craving, longing, or seeking. But this is merely the mental activity of the five sense consciousnesses after they have discerned the currently present five sense-objects; when not confronted with the currently present five sense-objects, there is no such desire, and they will not think of discerning other five sense-objects—their mental activity is very simple.

For example, wishing to be reborn in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī) is a kind of desire; there is the desire of the mind consciousness, and also the desire of the manas. The desire of the manas is called deep faith and earnest vow. If there is no deep faith and earnest vow in the manas, and only the mind consciousness wishes to be reborn there, then there is no sincerity, and one cannot evoke a response from the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions to come and receive one, nor can one evoke the blessing and cooperation of one's own tathāgatagarbha; therefore one cannot attain rebirth. Because whether or not one attains rebirth is decided by the manas, if the manas does not desire rebirth and remains attached to and craving for the Sahā world, one cannot be reborn in the land of bliss.

Wishing to become a buddha, wishing to investigate Chan—there is the desire of the mind consciousness, and also the desire of the manas. If there is no desire in the manas, the six consciousnesses simply cannot muster diligence, and such matters as investigating Chan, studying the Dharma, and becoming a buddha cannot be accomplished. In worldly affairs, wanting promotion and wealth, wanting to accomplish some enterprise—there is the desire of the mind consciousness, and also the desire of the manas. If the manas has no desire, if there is something it does not want to do, then no matter how much the mind consciousness desires, how much it wants to act, how much it longs, it is all useless, because the mind consciousness cannot make the decisions; decisions must be made by the manas.

Take another example, the mental factor of determination (adhimokṣa): there is the determination of the mind consciousness, the determination of the manas, and also the determination of the five sense consciousnesses. Under ordinary circumstances, because the manas lacks the wisdom to discern the objects of the six sense-objects, it can hardly attain determination regarding them, and must rely on the six consciousnesses to discern the specific details of the six sense-objects; after the six consciousnesses have discerned them, they then convey the information to the manas. If the manas cannot attain determination regarding the information conveyed by the six consciousnesses, then it cannot make decisions quickly, cannot make correct and reasonable decisions, and consequently the six consciousnesses will often do things wrong. If the manas attains determination regarding the information discerned by the six consciousnesses, it can make decisions that are correct, reasonable, timely, swift, and accurate. If the manas cannot attain determination about something, it cannot make correct decisions, nor can it go along with the mind consciousness's decisions, because it cannot understand or attain determination regarding the six sense-objects. If it cannot attain determination regarding the karmic seeds discerned by the tathāgatagarbha, there will be no foreknowledge, no preparing in advance to alert the mind consciousness.

The five sense consciousnesses can also have the power of determination regarding the respective objects they discern; only afterward can the wisdom of cognition arise, and only then is there the power of decision. If the five sense consciousnesses cannot attain determination, they cannot make decisions about objects, cannot grasp the five sense-objects, and cannot act upon the five sense-objects. In contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) for eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) and in investigating Chan, if the manas cannot attain determination regarding the principle that the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) are without self, cannot attain determination regarding the principle of prajñā, cannot attain determination regarding the dharma of the tathāgatagarbha, then one cannot eradicate the view of self, cannot see the mind and realize one's nature, cannot eradicate afflictions and attain liberation from birth-and-death, cannot transcend the three realms, and still less can one transform consciousness into wisdom and accomplish the buddha path.

Take another example, the mental factor of mindfulness (smṛti): everyone's mind is mindful of certain dharmas—some are mindful of worldly dharmas, some are mindful of the Buddha's teachings. Among these there is the mindfulness of the mind consciousness, the mindfulness of the manas, and also the mindfulness of the five sense consciousnesses, with the mindfulness of the manas being primary. Once the manas is mindful, the myriad dharmas appear—it is like pulling one hair and setting a thousand pounds in motion; when the manas does not stir a thought, the myriad dharmas remain quiescent and do not arise. The mindfulness of the mind consciousness arises partly under the influence of sense objects, and partly under the direction and pulling of the manas, being governed by the mindfulness of the manas. The mindfulness of the five sense consciousnesses is induced by the mindfulness of the manas, and is likewise governed by the mindfulness of the manas. The mindfulness of the mind consciousness and of the five sense consciousnesses arises and ceases and changes very rapidly, and is also quite superficial; the mindfulness of the manas is often deep and long-lasting, capable of continuing thought after thought without pause, thought after thought without change—for example, missing a certain person, or being mindful of a certain matter or a certain dharma—which can be rather stubborn.

Take another example, the mental factor of meditative concentration (samādhi): one can be concentrated on the Buddha's teachings—investigating Chan, recollecting the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), sitting in meditation—or one can be concentrated on worldly dharmas, doing scientific research, tackling some project, and so on. Here concentration includes the concentration of the mind consciousness, the concentration of the manas, and also the concentration of the five sense consciousnesses. When the mind consciousness has concentration, it can think and contemplate in fine detail, engage in contemplative practice, and analyze, study, and infer carefully; but the concentration of the mind consciousness is also the result of the concentration of the manas—the result of the manas not grasping, not being scattered, not being distracted—and is also the result of the manas's restraint and regulation.

The concentration of the five sense consciousnesses is likewise the result of the manas's restraint and regulation. Only when the manas is concentrated on the objects of the five sense-objects and wants to discern them clearly can the five sense consciousnesses be concentrated on the five sense-objects and discern them clearly. If the manas cannot be concentrated on the Buddha's teachings, cannot be concentrated on scientific research and tackling problems, the mind consciousness cannot focus on the Dharma or on research, and no results will be produced. Therefore the concentration of the manas is the fundamental concentration, and it is extremely important. Only after the manas's mind is concentrated can its deliberation (manasikāra) be continuous, meticulous, and deep; only then can it probe the essence and truth of things, can it realize awakening and gain wisdom, and even attain the transformation of consciousness into wisdom.

As for the wisdom among the object-specific factors, there is the wisdom of the mind consciousness, the wisdom of the manas, and the five sense consciousnesses also have wisdom. The wisdom of the seven consciousnesses differs to some degree. The wisdom of the mind consciousness arises easily, but true wisdom must also be obtained by relying on considerable meditative concentration. The wisdom of the five sense consciousnesses is relatively simple: it can only discern the objects of the five sense-objects clearly and has the function of true cognition—nothing more—but it too must rely on its own concentration in order to arise. The wisdom of the manas, however, can give rise to wisdom both in the Buddha's teachings and in worldly dharmas. For wisdom to be deep and penetrating, one must rely on profound meditative concentration; otherwise there can be no profound wisdom, no arising of true wisdom, and still less the transformation of consciousness into wisdom.

Therefore, the five object-specific mental factors are possessed by the sixth and seventh consciousnesses, and also by the five sense consciousnesses; they are the key to accomplishing all dharmas, worldly and transcendental, and are extremely important mental factors. If the seven consciousnesses lacked the five object-specific mental factors, many dharmas could not manifest; not only could the path-endeavor not be accomplished, but worldly dharmas could not be accomplished either.