Why Does Manas Employ the Six Consciousnesses?

The six consciousnesses have a significant obstructive effect. Employing them causes the mental faculty to become distracted, unable to concentrate, hindering the development of meditative power and wisdom. The mental faculty resorts to using the six consciousnesses only as a last resort to serve itself; when the mental faculty is capable of acting directly, it does not use them. Once the six consciousnesses are employed, the mental faculty becomes useless, and its abilities cannot be exercised or developed. Since all phenomena are essentially and ultimately needed by the mental faculty itself, it is best to let the mental faculty perform its functions directly, minimizing reliance on the six consciousnesses. However, ordinary people without meditative concentration cannot achieve this; only upon reaching the eighth Bodhisattva ground can one completely dispense with the six consciousnesses and substitute their functions. When the mental faculty replaces the six consciousnesses, it is called the interchangeable use of the six faculties.

Ruchun: There are a few points in the above passage I don’t understand. 1. If the six consciousnesses and the five aggregates obstruct the mental faculty, why does the mental faculty want to produce them? 2. What does "as a last resort" refer to?

Reply: Because the mental faculty alone cannot accomplish anything; most of the time, it must rely on the six consciousnesses to perceive the six dusts (sense objects), using the mental consciousness to assist itself in thinking, analyzing, and making decisions. However, when the activities of the six consciousnesses become excessive, the mental faculty is forced to deal with numerous mundane matters and sensory objects, making the mind restless and unable to generate wisdom. The term "as a last resort" is used because no one wants their own affairs to be handled by others. The mental faculty resorts to seeking helpers only because its own energy and capabilities are limited, yet no one can do things as well as oneself. Once the six consciousnesses are employed, matters become chaotic and diverse, making it difficult to attain meditative stability. People with overly active thoughts find it hard to cultivate concentration; those with rich imaginations find it hard to cultivate concentration; those who pay attention to many things find it hard to cultivate concentration; those who enjoy thinking and think excessively find it hard to cultivate concentration. In short, those unwilling to withdraw their minds from sensory objects find it difficult to cultivate concentration.

Lantian: When the mental faculty is heavily afflicted by ignorance and defilements, it struggles to rely on the seeing aspect of the eighth consciousness and the internal aspect of the brain’s sublime root to judge and handle external matters. Therefore, the mental faculty must produce the first six consciousnesses to assist in analysis and processing. However, after producing the six consciousnesses, the broad and miscellaneous information they receive significantly increases the mental faculty’s tendency to cling to external objects, further disrupting its concentration and impairing its thinking and judgment. Consequently, the mental faculty is forced to rely on the judgments of the six consciousnesses to make decisions, thereby weakening its own function. Thus, only by enhancing meditative concentration, subduing defilements, and reducing external sensations can the function of the mental faculty be strengthened.

Ruchun: Due to a single moment of ignorance, the mental faculty, unaware of its own illusory nature, constantly seeks a platform to manifest itself. Thus, it produces the five-aggregate body as a prop, feeling that "this is me." After acquiring the five-aggregate body, it desires to grasp and perceive more phenomena to strengthen the self, so it further produces the six consciousnesses to expand its "team." The six consciousnesses are very obedient to it, clinging to and grasping more phenomena to provide to the mental faculty. As a result, the mental faculty becomes even busier: on one hand, it must engage with the phenomena presented by the eighth consciousness, and on the other, it must process the phenomena perceived by the six consciousnesses. Its energy and attention become even more scattered. Overall, because the mental faculty is too greedy, it ends up doing something that harms itself.