The Operation of the Five Universally Functioning Mental Factors of Manas

What determines which dharmas the mental faculty (manas) attends to? This question is addressed in the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra. It is the mental faculty's mindfulness, desire, habits, customs, thoughts, interests, preferences, plans, wishes, demands, and so forth that trigger the manaskāra (mental attention) arising from the seeds of consciousness within the mental faculty itself. The manaskāra of all six consciousnesses is initiated and determined by the mental faculty. Wherever the mental faculty intends to function and create upon a dharma, the seeds of the six consciousnesses within the ālayavijñāna (storehouse consciousness) acquire a direction for manifestation; there is an intention to manifest in relation to that dharma. This is manaskāra. Subsequently, the seeds of consciousness invariably manifest in relation to that dharma.

After the mental faculty engages in manaskāra, regardless of which consciousness it is, it will inevitably come into contact (sparśa) with the corresponding dharma. This is because wherever the seed of consciousness manifests in relation to a dharma, it will contact that dharma. After contact occurs, it will receive and accept (vedanā) it. For example, after the hand touches a ball, it accepts the ball, receives the ball, and only then can there be sensation, that is, vedanā (feeling), followed by knowing (saṃjñā). For instance, when the eye faculty contacts a form-dust (rūpa), it first accepts the form-dust, then knows the form-drasta, then grasps (upādāna) this form-dust, giving rise to thoughts, plans, schemes, deliberations, and so forth. Only after grasping the form-drasta does feeling (vedanā) arise. Then, following feeling, thinking (cetanā) arises. After having feeling, it continues to deliberate, then subtly discerns, makes decisions, and asserts mastery, intending how to deal with it. Before processing, the mental faculty must complete the grasping of this dharma. Before grasping, it must discern it clearly; it must first have feeling (vedanā) towards this dharma. After feeling, a decision arises. This decision is the function of the cetanā (volition) mental factor. This decision is not necessarily the final one; it might be an immature, temporary decision. Later, after further subtle discernment, when it feels confident that everything has been clearly discerned, it will make the final decision. Then the operations of the seven consciousnesses regarding this dharma conclude.

Before the operation regarding this dharma is thoroughly completed, the cetanā mental factor of the mental faculty will operate continuously and uninterruptedly until the complete discernment of this dharma is finished. Then all the cetanā mental factors and the five universally concomitant (sarvatraga) mental factors (sparśa, manaskāra, vedanā, saṃjñā, cetanā) also conclude, and it will proceed to the operation of the next dharma, with the five universally concomitant mental factors continuing to operate on new content. If this dharma is not concluded, then contact (sparśa), attention (manaskāra), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā) will still operate continuously and uninterruptedly, feeding back and revising continuously. Just as when we look at an object, initially we first accept it. After accepting it, wanting to see it clearly, we go to discern it. At first, it might not be clear, so we continuously touch, continuously feel, continuously cognize. After cognizing, the three kinds of feeling (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral) arise. Then we grasp this appearance, make a decision, and the six consciousnesses are about to create karmic action.