The Source of Afflictions in Consciousness

The manas is the co-existent support (sahabhū-āśraya) for the arising of the mind consciousness, and it is also that upon which the mind-ground of the mind consciousness is defiled or purified. The mind consciousness comes into being only after the manas contacts the mental sense-objects (dharmas) and the manas makes a choice and initiates action. Where do the afflictions of the mind consciousness come from? One source is the regulation and perfuming by the manas; another 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 object-realm is not to its liking; the manas first gives rise to afflictions in its mind and wants to deal with the object-realm. Then the mind consciousness arises, and in accordance with the manas's instructions, it discerns the currently present mental sense-objects. When it takes bodily and verbal action, it carries afflictions with it, and 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 thus comes to have the same afflictions as the manas. For example, when a baby is first born, the mind consciousness has no afflictions; over time, the innate afflictions of the manas come to dominate the mental activities of the mind consciousness, and 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 lessen some of the 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 object-realms. Constantly dwelling amid the various afflictions of similar people, through accumulated perfuming day after day, afflictions arise in the mind. The afflictions of the mind consciousness then in turn perfume the manas, causing the manas also to have the same afflictions. After afflictions have been eradicated, the manas is not easily perfumed; even if afflictions occasionally arise, they are only temporary afflictions of the mind consciousness and will be eliminated afterward, not persisting for long.