The Heedlessness of the Seventh Consciousness

Modern people are too attached to worldly things, which is why they feel that everything in the world is good. Those whose minds do not grow weary of the world are all like this—they cannot see the suffering and dark side of the world precisely because their craving and attachment are heavy. Whether a person's mind inclines toward the worldly or away from it will be expressed in their speech, yet they themselves are unaware of it. Because all sentient beings crave worldly things, the six faculties and six consciousnesses are all unrestrained. The unrestraint of the eye consciousness is looking at forms at will; the unrestraint of the ear consciousness is listening to sounds at will; the unrestraint of the nose consciousness is delighting in fragrances and loathing foul odors; the unrestraint of the tongue consciousness is craving delicious flavors; the unrestraint of the body consciousness is seeking comfort and ease; the unrestraint of the mind consciousness is distraction, torpor, and restlessness; the unrestraint of the manas is constantly grasping at objects and clinging everywhere. The six faculties of the arhats are never unrestrained—they absolutely do not go about looking, listening, smelling, tasting, and touching, and their mind consciousness does not think indiscriminately.

Some people always love food and delicacies—that is the joint unrestraint of the tongue consciousness and the mind consciousness. Some people always love smelling fragrances—that is the joint unrestraint of the nose consciousness and the mind consciousness. Some people always love wearing fine clothes and sleeping on good beds, wanting everything to be comfortable—that is the joint unrestraint of the body consciousness and the mind consciousness. Some people always love recalling the past and grasping at the future—that is the unrestraint of the mind consciousness. Some people always love grasping at everything—that is the unrestraint of the manas. Learn from our eighth consciousness: it has no preferences, its mind is always in meditative concentration (samādhi); there is no time when it is greedy, no time when it is angry, no time when it is deluded; it has no view of self, and it does not take charge; it passes its days according to conditions, yet there is no day to be passed.