The Mental Factor of Determination (adhimokṣa) of the Eighth Consciousness

Among the five particular mental factors, the eighth consciousness possesses the mental factor of determination (adhimokṣa). After the eighth consciousness discerns karmic seeds, discerns the five-aggregate body, discerns the material world (the vessel world), and discerns the mental activities of the manas, it can accurately know these dharmas and cognize them reasonably, and the mind can accept and accord with them, after which it can carry out some activity—this process is determination (adhimokṣa). If these dharmas cannot be interpreted correctly, then further on it would be impossible to reasonably and truthfully produce and alter all dharmas. For example, after the eighth consciousness discerns the deliberation (cetanā) of the manas, it can correctly and accurately know what the manas' decision is, and only by accepting the manas' decision can it accord with the manas' intentions to transform and produce dharmas. If the eighth consciousness could not comprehend the manas' intentions with determination, it would produce and alter dharmas in a confused and erroneous manner, and then it could not normally cooperate with the manas, and the world would fall into chaos.

Take another example: the eighth consciousness discerns karmic seeds and can comprehend what the karmic seeds are, and thus knows how to produce dharmas in accordance with those karmic seeds. If it could not comprehend what the karmic seeds are, it would be unable to produce dharmas normally, and the whole world would be thrown into great disorder. For instance, if a karmic seed indicates that this person should be in a car accident, but the eighth consciousness cannot discern it correctly and cannot comprehend this information, then not only would there be no car accident, but the person's bodily illness would be eliminated, or perhaps the person would be promoted and become wealthy. In this way, cause and effect would not be realized truthfully: good deeds would have no good retribution, evil deeds no evil retribution, and the world would be abnormal.

Take another example: after the eighth consciousness discerns the six sense objects, if it cannot comprehend the current state of the six sense objects, it cannot normally output the seeds of the four great elements in order to continue upholding the six sense objects; then the six sense objects could not arise, cease, and transform truthfully, reasonably, and normally, and cause and effect would be thrown into confusion. For instance, if the eighth consciousness discerns the food and drink consumed by the five-aggregate body but cannot comprehend what nutrients they are, it cannot rely on those nutrients to transform, alter, and uphold the physical body. What should have made the body stronger and healthier instead makes the body weak and frail—such a result would also be abnormal. Therefore, since the eighth consciousness can truthfully realize the law of cause and effect, it must possess the mental factor of determination (adhimokṣa); only then is the world reasonable.