Why Beings in the Form Realm Lack the First Five Consciousnesses

Beings in the Form Realm possess meditative concentrations from the first dhyāna to the fourth dhyāna. Although beings in the first dhyāna have noses and tongues, they lack nose consciousness and tongue consciousness. Beings from the second dhyāna upward possess the five sensory faculties but lack the first five consciousnesses. Beings in the realm of non-perception lack not only the first five consciousnesses but also mental consciousness. Since the material dharmas of the five faculties and five objects exist, why do the five consciousnesses and mental consciousness not arise? This is because the six consciousnesses serve the mental faculty (manas). If the mental faculty does not need to perceive the objects of the six dusts (sense fields), the six consciousnesses are not needed and thus naturally do not arise.

The decision of whether the six consciousnesses arise rests with the mental faculty. If the mental faculty, being in meditative concentration, does not need to experience the objects of the dusts, the six consciousnesses have no reason to arise. Therefore, the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of sentient beings are governed by the mental faculty, and the wholesome or unwholesome nature of these actions is determined by the mental factors (caittas) associated with the mental faculty. Thus, the mental faculty possesses all afflictive mental factors and wholesome mental factors, which change at any time—increasing or decreasing—according to the level of cultivation. Some dharmas are received by the mental faculty, after which the six consciousnesses arise. The mental factor of feeling (vedanā) determines the arising and the wholesome or unwholesome nature of the six consciousnesses. Therefore, the mental faculty can not only possess all mental factors but also experience the three kinds of feelings; it is not limited to neutral feeling alone.