The Source of the Mind Consciousness's Afflictions

The manas is the dominant condition (adhipati-pratyaya) for the arising of the mind consciousness, and it is also the basis upon which the mind consciousness becomes defiled or purified. The mind consciousness comes into being only after the manas contacts the mental sense-objects and the manas makes choices and initiates actions. Where do the afflictions of the mind consciousness come from? One source is the regulation and perfuming by the manas; the other source is the perfuming by the defiled environment all around.

How does the manas regulate and perfume the mind consciousness? When the manas contacts the realms of the six sense-objects, it can roughly judge that the sense-objects are not to its liking. Afflictions first arise in the manas's mind, and it wants to deal with the sense-objects. Then the mind consciousness arises; following the manas's instructions, the mind consciousness discerns the current mental sense-objects, and when it takes bodily and verbal action, it carries afflictions with it, so the body and speech are defiled. This is the result of the mind consciousness being regulated by the manas. Perfuming means that each time the afflictions of the manas appear, they can perfume the mind consciousness; the mind consciousness is gradually perfumed and comes to have the same afflictions as the manas. For example, when a baby is first born, the mind consciousness has no afflictions, but over time the innate afflictions of the manas come to dominate the mental activities of the mind consciousness; the mind consciousness becomes more and more consistent with the afflictions of the manas—this is being perfumed by the manas. Only when the mind consciousness has some awakening can it reduce some afflictions, and it can in turn control the afflictions of the manas.

The second source of the mind consciousness's afflictions is the perfuming by the sense-objects. Constantly dwelling among the various afflictions of similar people, through accumulated perfuming day after day, afflictions appear in the mind. The afflictions of the mind consciousness then in turn perfume the manas, so that the manas also comes to possess the same afflictions. After afflictions have been eliminated, the manas is not easily perfumed anymore; even if afflictions occasionally arise, they are only temporary afflictions of the mind consciousness and will be eliminated afterward, not persisting for long.