The Activities of the Eight Consciousnesses — The Mental Factor of Volition (Cetanā)

The scope of volitional formations (saṃskāra) is extremely broad, encompassing the activities of all eight consciousnesses. Broadly speaking, it refers to movement, operation, motion, action, change, flux, and so on. In short, all phenomena of ceaseless flow and transformation fall within the scope of volitional formations. Viewed this way, in both the mundane and supramundane realms, there simply do not exist any things or principles that are without activity or movement. Even the tathāgatagarbha is constantly active, never having stopped and never going to stop. He has observable characteristics of activity, yet amid all these activities, the mind remains tranquil and unmoving.

Why is this said? First, because the tathāgatagarbha possesses the five universally present mental factors (pañca-sarvatraga-caitasika), and these five mental factors have never ceased for even a single instant; they have always been operating. Even in nirvāṇa without remainder, the tathāgatagarbha's five universally present mental factors continue to operate without interruption. Second, the tathāgatagarbha itself also has its own mind-consciousness seeds constantly arising and ceasing moment by moment, and only in this way can the tathāgatagarbha continue to exist without interruption, continuously operating without having paused for even a single instant. This is precisely what makes it a consciousness that is neither arising nor ceasing.

As long as the tathāgatagarbha's five universally present mental factors exist, they are operating—this is activity (saṃskāra). Moreover, the volition mental factor (cetanā-caitasika) itself represents both the meaning of choice and decision, and the meaning of operation and functioning. It is precisely the tathāgatagarbha's activity that impels the continual arising and operation of all dharmas, their constant arising and ceasing. Therefore, in a broad sense, the tathāgatagarbha can also be included within the aggregate of volitional formations (saṃskāra-skandha), except that this aggregate of volitional formations is not subject to arising and ceasing. The tathāgatagarbha has the function and role of aggregating all dharmas, so broadly speaking, the tathāgatagarbha can also be called the aggregate of consciousness (vijñāna-skandha)—indeed, the most fundamental aggregate of consciousness, the aggregate of consciousness that neither arises nor ceases. It is precisely because of the functional nature of the tathāgatagarbha's aggregate of consciousness that all dharmas can be aggregated together, allowing dharmas to arise, cease, and change, allowing sentient beings to transmigrate without end, and allowing the world to be unpredictable and ever-changing.

How exactly does the tathāgatagarbha function and operate? First, He outputs seeds and withdraws seeds, creating all the dharmas of the five-aggregate world, allowing all dharmas to constantly arise, cease, and change without ever settling, and He also stores karmic seeds and releases karmic seeds. Second, with regard to karmic seeds, and with regard to all the dharmas of the five-aggregate world, He constantly performs contact (sparśa), attention (manaskāra), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā), allowing all dharmas to operate ceaselessly in accordance with conditions. Even though the tathāgatagarbha thus operates constantly without settling, this in no way affects the tranquil, quiescent, and unconditioned nature of His own mind, does not affect His mental activity of neither seeing nor hearing, without desire or seeking, with regard to all dharmas, and does not affect His mental activity of being unshaken and unmoved with regard to all dharmas.

The activity of the seventh consciousness includes the activity of ignorance within the twelve links of dependent origination, and also includes the activity of the noble ones who are without ignorance. The activity of ignorance is the activity of birth-and-death and saṃsāra; the activity without ignorance is the activity of liberation from birth-and-death. The activity of the seventh consciousness plays a decisive and crucial role in both birth-and-death and liberation. It is precisely the activity of the seventh consciousness that impels the tathāgatagarbha to aggregate the karmic seeds of the five aggregates' birth-and-death in saṃsāra, thereby aggregating the five-aggregate world. Therefore, again in a broad sense, the seventh consciousness also falls within the categories of the aggregate of volitional formations and the aggregate of consciousness.

The activity of the six consciousnesses is relatively easy to observe and understand. The six consciousnesses are of the nature of dependent arising (paratantra-svabhāva); they are activities that manifest passively. Whether in the broad or narrow sense, the six consciousnesses are subsumed under the aggregate of consciousness. This is because the bodily, verbal, and mental actions created by the six consciousnesses are precisely the cause of the accumulation of karmic seeds, the cause of the manifestation of the five-aggregate world, and the cause of the aggregation of name-and-form (nāma-rūpa). Although this aggregation is passive, it still constitutes a large portion of the aggregating function.