How the Five Universal Mental Factors of the Six Consciousnesses Operate (1)

The five universal mental factors of the six consciousnesses begin with attention (manaskāra). Attention means directing one's focus onto an object. Whatever dharma the manas, the seventh consciousness, wishes to discriminate, that is what the six consciousnesses direct their attention to; therefore, the attention of the six consciousnesses is decided and determined by the manas. After the six consciousnesses have directed their attention, the seeds of consciousness are born and the six consciousnesses arise. Then the faculties, sense objects, and consciousnesses make contact with one another, and after contact, the first thing that occurs is reception. What is reception? Reception does not refer to the feeling of experiencing suffering or experiencing pleasure; at the very beginning there is not yet any emotional feeling—it is first the reception of the sense object. The six consciousnesses receive the realms of the six sense objects, that is, they first accept them. After accepting them, the mental factor of perception (saṃjñā) begins to discriminate: first there is contact, and afterward discrimination.

For example, when someone gives you an object, you first turn your attention toward that object, then touch it with your hand, and afterward accept it. After taking it into your hands, you then carefully discriminate and observe it. After observing, you take its image, and with regard to this object you develop a determined mind, and thus feelings arise. As for the mental factors of feeling and perception that come afterward, it is hard to say which comes first and which comes later; the two of them appear alternately, and the sequence of the five mental factors becomes disrupted. When many people simultaneously discriminate the same object, the sequence of their mental factors is not the same; this is related to each person's power of wisdom (prajñā-bala), power of meditative concentration, karma, and afflictive habits.

Generally speaking, perception arises only after the sense object has been received; only after the functions of discrimination and taking the image have occurred can feelings arise. If the feeling is unclear, then contact and perception continue, followed by further knowing; after knowing, a mind of determination arises, and there are then various feelings. The longer contact, perception, and volition take up, the more inner feelings there are, and the greater the changes in the mental state; this shows that there is continuous perceiving and continuous feeling; continuous feeling, then continuous perceiving again; the emotions in the mind are fluctuating, and the mind is constantly grasping at the marks of sense objects. The five mental factors run back and forth repeatedly, and their sequential order is often disrupted. For example, in the operation of the mental factor of volition (cetanā), when the mental factor of perception has not clearly discriminated the sense object, the volition is not clear, and the decisiveness of the mental factor of volition cannot arise—there is no power of determination. At this point, one must turn back and let the mental factors of contact and perception operate again; only after the discrimination is clear does the mental factor of volition have the power of determination and can make the final decision. Then the operation of the five universal mental factors on this sense object comes to an end.