Proof from the Śūraṅgama Sūtra on the Origin of the World: The Manas is Not of Avyākṛta Nature

In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the World-Honored One explains the origin of the world. Immeasurable kalpas ago, when chaos had yet to unfold, only the eighth consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna) and the mental faculty (manas) existed. There was no threefold world, much less the five aggregates or the six consciousnesses. The mental faculty combined with the eighth consciousness constituted the life essence of sentient beings. At that time, due to ignorance, the mental faculty arose with an outward-seeking inclination, desiring to explore something. Only then did the eighth consciousness, following the mental faculty's thoughts, gradually form the world. This process was exceedingly prolonged, for the world was not conceived by the mental faculty of a single sentient being, but by the collective thoughts of the mental faculties of numerous sentient beings.

After the world had formed over many great kalpas, the five aggregates of sentient beings were able to emerge because a suitable environment for survival had developed. All ignorance existed even before the world formed; not a single form of ignorance was generated later. Therefore, it is said that all ignorance belongs to the mental faculty. Since the mental faculty possesses all ignorance, this ignorance inherently contains the seeds of all afflictions, which manifest as afflictions when conditions ripen. The ignorance and afflictions of the mental faculty then permeate the mental consciousness (mano-vijñāna), which gradually becomes infused with afflictions—this too is a prolonged process. Thus, the very first afflictions belonged entirely to the mental faculty; the mental consciousness merely followed the mental faculty's afflictions. Only after the mental consciousness had been thoroughly permeated did afflictions appear within it.

Ignorance means lack of clarity; the mind of the mental faculty lacks understanding of truth and remains in a state of confusion. What is this truth? According to the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, it is the true reality of the Dharma Realm. The mental faculty fails to comprehend the principle of the true reality of the Dharma Realm—the eighth consciousness. It fails to understand that it is a dharmic phenomenon within the eighth consciousness, born of and sustained by the eighth consciousness, and that apart from the eighth consciousness, there are no dharmas and no Dharma Realm. This is the beginningless ignorance of the mental faculty, also known as fundamental ignorance. Due to this beginningless ignorance, the mental faculty arises with the inclination to seek outside the eighth consciousness, leading to the formation of the world. This occurred gradually over long kalpas, not within a short span of time.

After the world had formed over many great kalpas, the five aggregates of sentient beings finally appeared, and the mental consciousness along with the five sense consciousnesses arose with the birth of the five aggregates. Only after the emergence of the five aggregates did the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses cooperate with the mental faculty to create karmic formations. Therefore, due to ignorance, the mental faculty gives rise to afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, directing the six consciousnesses to create karmic actions of affliction and evil. Seeds of evil karma are thus deposited, leading to the causes, conditions, and karmic retribution of birth and death within the six destinies. This is the origin of the twelve links of dependent origination. From this, it is evident that the mental consciousness appeared very late, far later than the mental faculty. It is impossible for the mental consciousness to possess ignorance and afflictions immediately upon its appearance without any cause. The subsequent emergence of afflictions in the mental consciousness stems from the permeation by the master consciousness—the mental faculty—which governs it. Alternatively, the ignorance and afflictions manifested by the mental consciousness are actually those of the mental faculty, resulting from the mental faculty's control. Thus, the mental faculty indeed possesses afflictions; it is not merely non-reactive (avyākṛta). It encompasses all three natures: wholesome, unwholesome, and non-reactive.

Ignorance is an unwholesome dharma; it is neither a wholesome dharma nor a neutral dharma that is neither wholesome nor unwholesome. Consequently, it must be eradicated entirely through Buddhist study and practice, enabling one to become a perfectly enlightened Buddha endowed with eternity, bliss, true self, and purity. Would anyone regard ignorance as a wholesome or non-reactive dharma? The afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion in sentient beings arise from ignorance, which originates from the mental faculty. If the mental faculty were without ignorance, it would not create karmic actions of greed, hatred, and delusion. It is ignorance that causes the manifestation of greed, hatred, and delusion. Therefore, the mental faculty is not of a non-reactive nature. Is the mental faculty of a Buddha after enlightenment non-reactive? The mental faculty after Buddhahood is certainly not non-reactive; it is purely wholesome, utterly free from unwholesomeness, embodying great compassion and benevolence toward all sentient beings. From this perspective, the nature of the mental faculty should be easily discerned, and there should be no further misunderstandings.