The Sequence of Discernment for the First Five Consciousnesses and the Five-accompanying Mental Consciousness

The birth of the first seed of eye-associated consciousness must occur after the birth of the eye-consciousness seed, after which the two seeds are born simultaneously, without sequence. The birth of subsequent eye-consciousness seeds must be accompanied by the operation of consciousness; otherwise, they cannot be born. We can enter a state of blankness and personally experience this: when seeing form, does eye-consciousness perceive first, or does consciousness perceive first? If consciousness perceives first, then within the forms perceived by consciousness, is there an absence of any color whatsoever—neither white nor bright, nor black nor dark, let alone red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, or purple? Obviously not.

Further observe and experience: when form is no longer seen, does consciousness vanish first, or does eye-consciousness vanish first, or do they vanish simultaneously? According to the theory, consciousness vanishes first, followed by eye-consciousness, because the dharmas as objects of mind (dharma-dharmas) rely on the forms as objects of the senses (rūpa-dharmas) to manifest. For instance, the length, shortness, squareness, or roundness of a form cannot be contrasted without the colors that make the form visible. If the rūpa-dharmas cease to exist or vanish, the dharma-dharmas certainly cannot exist. When the dharma-dharmas vanish, the rūpa-dharmas can linger for one kṣaṇa—merely one kṣaṇa, not a second—otherwise, eye-consciousness could exist independently. It is impossible for the rūpa-dharmas to vanish while the dharma-dharmas remain; this is absolutely impossible. Therefore, eye-consciousness cannot vanish before consciousness. Upon awakening, the opposite occurs: consciousness must precede the five sense-consciousnesses, or isolated consciousness transforms into consciousness associated with the five senses, after which the five sense-consciousnesses arise.