Explanation of the Verses on the Structure of the Eight Consciousnesses (I)

Original text: 前五识颂。性境现量通三性。

Explanation: First, let us explain the terms and concepts involved in the original text. The first five consciousnesses are the eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, and body consciousness.

"Nature realm" (性境) refers to the five sense-object realms of form, sound, smell, taste, and touch, which arise within the supreme faculties (indriya) and are composed of the real seeds of the five great elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and space, possessing the functional properties of real material form, corresponding to the five consciousnesses. Before the nature realm enters the supreme faculty, it is not confronted by the five consciousnesses and is not discerned by the five consciousnesses; rather, it is generally contacted by the manas. If the manas could not contact it, there would be no capacity for foreknowledge; when encountering sudden situations, the manas would be unable to react in time and handle problems quickly. If the manas could not contact it, then there would be dharmas it does not contact, and it would lack the property of universal contact, which contradicts what the Śūraṅgama Sūtra says about universally contacting all dharmas.

Taking the form sense-object among the five sense-objects alone: it is composed of the seeds of the five great elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and space, and is confronted by the eye consciousness and discerned by the eye consciousness. The form sense-object not only has colors discerned by the eye consciousness, but its shapes of form, expressive form, and non-expressive form are simultaneously discerned by the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna). This portion of dharma is called the mental sense-object or form included in the dharma base (dharmāyatana), and is also called the "borrowed-characteristic realm" (带质境), carrying the substance of the seeds of the five great elements, but it is not a real dharma; it is a provisional dharma. What is a provisional dharma? For example, the seeds of the five great elements combine into particles, the particles continuously accumulate into minute matter, and then continuously accumulate into larger and greater material form. At this point, the material form has shapes of long, short, square, round, and so on — expressive and non-expressive forms. The matter itself is a real dharma, a nature realm; but the shapes, sizes, and contours displayed after the matter becomes larger and more numerous are not real dharmas; they lack the seeds of the five great elements and their functional properties, and exist dependently upon the nature realm — this is a provisional dharma, also called the borrowed-characteristic realm, and specifically a false borrowed-characteristic realm, also called form included in the dharma base. The true borrowed-characteristic realm is contacted by the manas.

What functional properties does the nature realm of the form sense-object have? For example, a stone has hardness, has warmth-properties such as coolness and heat, has roughness and smoothness, and has motility — these are real functional properties. But the mental sense-object borrowed-characteristic realm that depends on the form sense-object is a displayed false appearance and lacks these properties. For example, a big mountain and a small mountain are both essentially mountains; their size is due to the quantity of dust accumulated — apart from the dust, the form sense-object, there is no other dharma existing. Therefore, the mental sense-object corresponding to the mind consciousness is a false and illusory appearance.

The concept of direct perception means discerning a realm that exists presently before one: if it exists, it exists; if it does not, it does not — without needing to think, imagine, analyze, or speculate. The five consciousnesses discerning the five sense-object realms is direct perception, and can only be direct perception: what exists is there, what does not is not; what something is is determined as what it is, without confusion. If there is confusion, it must be the mind consciousness that is confused, and specifically the solitary consciousness that is confused. The consciousness accompanied by the five senses is only responsible for discerning the expressive and non-expressive forms of the form sense-object, and following the five consciousnesses it also discerns by direct perception. On this basis, the solitary consciousness deliberates, analyzes, infers, and judges the mental sense-objects through inference and non-valid cognition; it may then misidentify, judge confusedly, and mix up concepts, misjudging long and short, square and round, large and small, and the properties of things, and may even misjudge what the five consciousnesses have discerned. When this is uploaded to the manas, the manas will misjudge, leading to disordered bodily, verbal, and mental actions, and mental illness may arise.

The three natures refer to the wholesome nature, unwholesome nature, and the neutral (indeterminate, avyākṛta) nature of mind consciousnesses that is neither wholesome nor unwholesome. Speaking from the operational characteristics of the five consciousnesses themselves: the functions of the five consciousnesses are extremely singular and narrow, performing only direct-perception discernment of the five sense-object realms composed of the real seeds of the five great elements, without thinking, analyzing, speculating, or imagining, and without any other mental activities — those belong to the domain of the mind consciousness, and specifically the solitary consciousness. The eye consciousness simply cannot give rise to wholesome thoughts or unwholesome thoughts; its function is set only to automatically and singularly discern, like a robot — even more singular and pure than a robot, with even more simplified functions. How could it give rise to a wholesome mind or an unwholesome mind?

For example, when the eye consciousness sees a form sense-object, how could it be wholesome or unwholesome? What other intentional mental activities could it have? Toward the form sense-object it has no thought at all about how to handle it, nor any ideas of concealing or exaggerating; it only mechanically contacts and mechanically determines the color of the form sense-object, with no more room for activity — that is all the affair of the mind consciousness, and specifically of the solitary consciousness. Even the consciousness accompanied by the five senses does not have so many permissions and functions; it only cooperates with the five consciousnesses in discernment, and it is direct-perception discernment, without wholesome or unwholesome attributes. What has wholesome and unwholesome mental actions and intentions is the solitary consciousness; the solitary consciousness corresponds to the subjectively imagined realm, using the modes of discernment of inference and non-valid cognition; the conditions needed for its arising and operation are very few, its permissions are very many, it is extremely lively and unrestrained, boundlessly free, interwoven with wholesome and unwholesome, extremely complex, and hard to control.

The first five consciousnesses have absolutely no autonomy; their arising, ceasing, and variation are decided by the manas. They are the manas's tools for discerning the five sense-objects; they all discern sense-object realms together with the mind consciousness, and their range of discernment is very narrow and rather singular, with a discernment process resembling mechanization. Because the five consciousnesses are like video recorders, tape recorders, or geological detectors, operated by the manas, they have no autonomy or power of choice: which portion of audio-visual material to record, how long to record, the angle and orientation, etc., are all controlled by the manas; what content to detect, and the direction, angle, and duration of detection, etc., are all decided by the manas. The five consciousnesses are merely obedient tools, less flexible, less authorized, and less multifunctional than robots — so how could they be wholesome or unwholesome? Even a robot with extremely many functions has no wholesome or unwholesome attributes; how could the five consciousnesses, with their singular functions, have wholesome or unwholesome attributes? Therefore, the five consciousnesses have only the neutral (indeterminate) nature.

How are the five consciousnesses tools? For example, if the manas wants to see a certain form, the tathāgatagarbha cooperates and gives rise to the consciousness accompanied by the five senses and the eye consciousness at that form; at other form-bases there is no mind consciousness or eye consciousness, because the manas makes no choice and has no intention. If the manas wants to see a certain part of a certain form, the eye consciousness and the consciousness accompanied by the five senses must focus on that part; the other parts have no mind consciousness or eye consciousness. These two consciousnesses absolutely turn according to the manas's intentions and thoughts; otherwise there would be no need for them to arise. They cannot arise autonomously, cannot arise freely; their arising is conditional — the precondition of the manas's choice is required, and they must turn according to the manas's will. Wherever the manas points, they must strike; otherwise, on what basis would the tathāgatagarbha give rise to these two consciousnesses?

In the process of discerning material form, if the manas has a wholesome thought wanting to cultivate wholesome dharmas, the consciousness accompanied by the five senses and the eye consciousness operate according to the manas's intention, but the eye consciousness still has no wholesome nature, and even the consciousness accompanied by the five senses may have no wholesome nature; but the solitary consciousness definitely has a wholesome nature, otherwise it would be unwilling to cooperate in doing good. Likewise, if the manas has an unwholesome thought wanting to commit unwholesome karma, the consciousness accompanied by the five senses and the eye consciousness operate according to the manas's malicious intent; the eye consciousness likewise has no unwholesome nature, and even the consciousness accompanied by the five senses may have no unwholesome nature, but the solitary consciousness definitely has an unwholesome mind, otherwise it would resist and be unwilling to cooperate. The solitary consciousness is complete with all three natures — wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral; the consciousness accompanied by the five senses has the neutral nature, and possibly also wholesome and unwholesome natures when attached to the manas — this can be observed later. The five consciousnesses definitely have no wholesome or unwholesome nature, only the neutral nature.

When observing the essential nature or attributes of the seven consciousnesses, one must observe the seven consciousnesses separately and not lump them together; observing them together observes the characteristics and attributes of the seven consciousnesses as a whole, not the attributes of any individual consciousness — then one cannot distinguish the functional attributes of each individual mind consciousness. If one takes the attributes of multiple consciousnesses operating in combination as the attributes of some individual consciousness, that is a mistake; the result and conclusion will be inaccurate, or even inverted. 

Of course, ordinary people can only observe a portion of the coarse, superficial attributes and mental activities of the solitary consciousness; even the consciousness accompanied by the five senses is hard to observe. Due to insufficient meditative concentration and wisdom, there is no way to directly observe the attributes and mental activities of the first five consciousnesses and the manas. A person with sufficient meditative concentration and wisdom who has the ability to observe the essential nature of the first five consciousnesses and the manas must be a bodhisattva on the bhūmis possessing the seed-wisdom (种智) of Yogācāra. Therefore, regarding profound dharmas, disagreements and controversies are great.