Concentration of the Mental Faculty

Upon entering the attainment of cessation (nirodha-samāpatti), consciousness ceases, yet the mental faculty (manas) continues to operate. Is this attainment that of the mental faculty or of consciousness? At this time, the mental faculty is still active, with mental factors such as attention (manasikāra), contact (sparśa), and volition (cetanā) present. As long as volition operates, objects appear. If the mental faculty were without attention, contact, or volition, the physical body would collapse into nirvāṇa. Therefore, the mental faculty still functions during the attainment of cessation. However, this attainment is unequivocally and entirely that of the mental faculty, not of consciousness, for consciousness has vanished. If a vanished consciousness could still possess attainment, then one should also attain it after falling asleep.

Without the manifestation of the six consciousnesses, and with the mental faculty neither experiencing nor cognizing, this is precisely attainment — diminished activity constitutes attainment. During the attainments of cessation and non-perception (asaṃjñā-samāpatti), the six consciousnesses are not present. Who, then, is in attainment? It must solely be the mental faculty in attainment. In the attainments of non-perception and cessation, the six consciousnesses are absent — they have ceased. How then could the six consciousnesses abide stabilized within these attainments? This is evidently impossible. If the six consciousnesses were absent yet still possessed attainment, how could this be? If unconsciousness without the six consciousnesses constituted entering attainment, should we all seek unconsciousness? If sleep without the six consciousnesses constituted entering attainment, should we all simply sleep instead of sitting in meditation?

If the mental faculty could be without attainment, its tendency to grasp would remain as before, fully manifesting. Could the six consciousnesses then become tranquil? When we sit quietly seeking to enter attainment and contemplate the Dharma, if the mental faculty desires to hear birdsong, admire scenery, or engage with past people, matters, and objects, the six consciousnesses would be pulled into scattered discrimination. How then could they quieten to contemplate the Dharma? Could the six consciousnesses themselves enter attainment? This is impossible. Therefore, all attainments are for stabilizing the mental faculty. Only by stabilizing the mental faculty can the six consciousnesses become calm and contemplate with unified mind.

The mental faculty is the turning consciousness, the leading force of all dharmas. Without stabilizing the mental faculty, all dharmas would incessantly manifest, and the six consciousnesses would be dragged into scattered discrimination and action. How then could there be attainment? Attainment means stabilizing the master, the commander — what use is stabilizing servants or soldiers? For example, to stop and stabilize a car, one must restrain the driver by applying the brakes; what use is restraining the passenger beside the driver? Could that stop the car? To prevent a thief from stealing, one must restrain the thief; what use is restraining unrelated people? Since the mental faculty is called the turning consciousness, and all dharmas are turned by it, attainment must necessarily be that of the mental faculty. The mental faculty turns forth the six consciousnesses; what use is stabilizing the six consciousnesses without stabilizing the mental faculty? The six consciousnesses would still be turned forth by the mental faculty. In summary, attainment is the attainment of the mental faculty. The purpose of cultivating attainment is to stabilize the mental faculty, for only then can there be attainment, and all dharmas cease to manifest. If the mental faculty is restrained, all dharmas can be mastered. Failure to restrain the mental faculty leads to rebirth in the six realms. Therefore, there is no dharma that does not pertain to the mental faculty.