The Two Types of Afflictive Mental Factors of the Mind Faculty

The defilement mental factors of the manas are of two kinds. One kind constantly accompanies the manas in manifestation, ceaselessly and without interruption, such as the defilement mental factors mentioned in the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra: the view of self (ātma-dṛṣṭi), self-conceit (ātma-māna), self-love (ātma-sneha), and ignorance (ātma-moha). The other kind does not constantly accompany the manas in manifestation; this refers to mental factors other than the aforementioned four defilements, such as the major, medium, and minor secondary defilements like hatred, anger, and so forth. If these defilements were to manifest constantly, the bodies and minds of sentient beings, both their own and others', would suffer severe harm, their lives would become chaotic, and their lifespan would not endure. Only the view of self, self-love, self-grasping, and self-conceit are the defilements that constantly manifest in ordinary sentient beings.

 When people encounter profound Dharma teachings, they are unable to engage in direct observation and practice; they can only grasp a superficial understanding. Therefore, they can only engage in rote recitation. The doctrine of the twelve links of dependent origination reveals that the reason sentient beings undergo continuous birth and death within the six realms is due to the ignorance of the manas. If the manas were without ignorance, the twelve links would cease, the defilements of sentient beings would be exhausted, and they would be liberated from birth and death. Ignorance conditions volitional formations; volitional formations condition consciousness. By fully understanding these seven words, one will comprehend whether the manas truly possesses hatred or not. If there is no hatred within the ignorance of the manas, it will not prompt the six consciousnesses to create karmic actions of hatred, thus reducing karmic actions leading to birth and death by nearly half. Hatred within the mental consciousness is inconsequential because the mental consciousness cannot determine the creation of karmic actions of hatred; thus, there would be no seeds of hatred karma and no karmic actions of hatred leading to birth and death. 

Furthermore, where does hatred in the mental consciousness come from? How does it arise? Many people are neither able to directly observe whether the manas has hatred, nor can they clarify the logical dialectical relationship between the manas and the mental consciousness. They do not understand the origin of the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses. They only engage in rote recitation and consider their shallow understanding to be correct. As stated in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, in the very beginning of a sentient being's life, there is only the manas and the ālaya-vijñāna. Only after the manas gives rise to thoughts do heaven, earth, the myriad things, the five aggregates, and the six consciousnesses come into existence. If the manas has no hatred, where does the hatred in the mental consciousness come from? How do karmic actions of hatred arise? Why do sentient beings struggle and fight with each other? How does this arise?

Defilements of the mental consciousness are easy to subdue and eradicate. Merely understanding the theory and comprehending it clearly allows for effective control over the defilements. However, because the manas does not sever the defilements, when encountering fundamental problems, if the mental consciousness is momentarily negligent, the defilements will immediately reappear, and the person reveals their true nature. For example, in dreams, or after becoming intoxicated, when the mental consciousness is weak and lacks rationality, all the defilements of the manas will manifest. Are the hatred and hateful actions after drunkenness also those of the mental consciousness? Why is it easier to create unwholesome karma after drinking? Why does one reveal their true nature after drinking? Why does one's character show after drinking?

Subduing defilements refers to severing the defilements of the mental consciousness, but this is only temporary, not permanent. If the defilements of the manas are not severed, the defilements eradicated by the mental consciousness will re-arise when conditions are sufficient; they cannot be fundamentally controlled. Therefore, the defilement of hatred is only completely severed at the third fruition (anāgāmin). This indicates that the manas can only completely sever the defilement of hatred at the third fruition, while the hatred defilement of the mental consciousness can be eradicated during the ordinary person's stage of understanding the principle, but this is not ultimate. When encountering special conditions, hatred defilements can still arise in the mental consciousness. For instance, some people have a gentle temperament and an exceptionally good disposition; they never become hateful under normal circumstances. This is a case of the mental consciousness being free from hatred. However, once they encounter special situations that touch their bottom line, such people might also kill. This is the hatred of the manas manifesting.