Brief Discussion on Material Elements (Draft)

17. Question: Some people say that the mental sense-object arises alone within the supreme faculty (indriya), and after the manas makes contact with it, the mind consciousness arises to discern the mental sense-object. Is this so?

Answer: The mental sense-object within the supreme faculty is transmitted through the five faculties together with the five external sense-objects at the same time, becoming the six inner sense-objects, available for the manas to contact, and also available for the six consciousnesses to discern simultaneously. The inner mental sense-object is not born alone within the supreme faculty. If it were so, the mental sense-object would have no relationship with the five sense-objects; a mental sense-object born alone would appear abrupt and unfounded, somewhat like fabrication, unable to reveal the nature and content of the five sense-objects, and the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna) would likewise have no close relationship with the five consciousnesses.

After the consciousness accompanied by the five senses makes choices and judgments regarding its discernment of the mental sense-object, it must convey information to the manas; the information about the five sense-objects discerned by the five consciousnesses is also conveyed to the manas together with the mind consciousness, because the manas is also the coexistent basis (sahabhū-hetu) for the arising of the five consciousnesses. Only when the manas decides to discern and process the five sense-objects can the five consciousnesses arise; therefore, the actions and activities of the five consciousnesses must be directed by the manas, be accountable to the manas, and serve as a reference for the manas.

The five sense-objects together with the mental sense-object combine to constitute the complete six sense-object realms of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas. What the five consciousnesses discern and process is the relatively coarse portion of the six sense-objects, while what the mind consciousness discerns and processes is the relatively subtle portion. The information of coarse and subtle combined is conveyed to the manas; the manas simultaneously receives information of both coarse dharmas and subtle dharmas, and through its own independent deliberation (manasikāra), makes its own judgment and choice regarding the six sense-objects as a whole.

For example, when going to a shopping mall to buy clothes and seeing garments of various colors, the manas will want to choose a garment whose color suits it. The eye consciousness and the mind consciousness will then discern the clothing simultaneously: the eye consciousness discerns only the colors, while the mind consciousness discerns the mental sense-objects beyond the colors, including the style, material, and charm of the clothing. After the information of the form sense-object and the mental sense-object is conveyed to the manas, the manas will deliberate on the colors and the style and material, and then let the mind consciousness separately analyze and judge which color, red or black, is more suitable, and which style is more appropriate—this is the working domain of the solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta). The solitary consciousness then imagines the effect of wearing it on the body and conveys the results of its imaginative analysis to the manas; the manas deliberates and judges again, making its own decision. Finally, with the combined operation of the several consciousnesses, the garment that satisfies the manas is purchased, and the six consciousnesses have completed their service to the manas.

The manifest color (niyata-rūpa) that constitutes the colored portion of the whole garment is the form sense-object discerned by the eye consciousness; all parts other than the color—visible form, expressive form, and non-expressive form (saṃsthāna-rūpa, vijñapti-rūpa, and avijñapti-rūpa)—are the mental sense-objects discerned by the mind consciousness. The two combine to constitute a garment. When the garment is produced and processed, the form sense-object and the mental sense-object exist simultaneously. When each person discerns it, the form sense-object and the mental sense-object are transmitted through the five faculties into one's own supreme faculty, forming the inner material sense-object (inner rūpa-viṣaya) and the inner mental sense-object (inner dharma-viṣaya), for the eye consciousness and mind consciousness to discern. It is not the case that when the garment is produced there is only color, without mental sense-object contents such as style, material, length, width, size, and charm; if so, it would not be called a garment, there would be no need for sewing and tailoring equipment to process the fabric, and there would be no such thing as fabric. Therefore, the mental sense-object is bound together with the five sense-objects, and is not produced alone within the supreme faculty.