For What Reason Can Mind Consciousness Take the Aggregates, Sense Bases, and Elements as Objects?

The reason the mind consciousness can cognize the aggregates, sense bases, and elements is that the manas first cognizes them and then determines the ultimate object of discernment; only then can the mind consciousness cognize the aggregates, sense bases, and elements. If the manas cannot cognize the various characteristics of the aggregates, sense bases, and elements, the mind consciousness cannot cognize them either. How does the mind consciousness arise? When the manas is in contact with the mental sense-objects (dharmas), if the manas wishes to act, the eighth consciousness then gives rise to the mind consciousness to engage in activity; if, after contacting the mental sense-objects, the manas does not wish to act, the eighth consciousness will not give rise to the mind consciousness to engage in activity. Therefore, when the mind consciousness cognizes the characteristics of the aggregates, sense bases, and elements, it must be because the manas first cognized those characteristics—there is no such thing as the manas not cognizing the aggregates, sense bases, and elements!

At all times, the manas, moment after moment, must rely on the eighth consciousness to cognize the characteristics of the aggregates, sense bases, and elements, and cannot be separated from them even for an instant. Even when asleep and dreamless, even when in a coma, even when in the meditative absorption of no-perception (asaṃjñi-samāpatti), even at the time of death when it has not yet left the physical body, even in the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava), the manas must always be together with the aggregates, sense bases, and elements, and must always cognize them—unless there is a time when the aggregates, sense bases, and elements do not exist, when the five aggregates do not exist.

If there is a dharma that the manas does not cognize, by what means could the mind consciousness cognize it? On any dharma where the manas is absent, the mind consciousness could not possibly exist in the first place, let alone be able to cognize it. That the mind consciousness arises from the condition of the manas and dharmas is the noble authoritative teaching (āgama) of the World-Honored One, the noble word spoken by the World-Honored One Himself—how could it be contradicted? That the manas silently encompasses all dharmas was spoken personally by the World-Honored One in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra—how could it be contradicted?