Explanation of the Verses on the Rules of the Eight Consciousnesses (II)

Original Text: The eye, ear, and body consciousnesses reside in two realms. The universally active, the particular objects, and the eleven wholesome mental factors. The two middling, the eight major, greed, hatred, and delusion.

Explanation: First, explain the concepts. "Universally active" refers to the five universally active mental factors: attention, contact, sensation, perception, and volition. "Particular objects" refers to the five mental factors of particular objects: aspiration, conviction, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. The wholesome mental factors number eleven: faith, shame, remorse, non-greed, non-hatred, non-delusion, lightness and ease, diligence, equanimity, non-harming. The subsidiary afflictions number twenty: the minor subsidiary afflictions are anger, resentment, concealment, spite, envy, stinginess, deceit, guile, harmfulness, arrogance. The middling subsidiary afflictions are shamelessness and non-remorse. The major subsidiary afflictions are agitation, dullness, lack of faith, laziness, heedlessness, forgetfulness, and incorrect understanding. The root afflictions are greed, hatred, and delusion.

Among the five consciousnesses, the eye consciousness, ear consciousness, and body consciousness exist only in two realms: the desire realm and the first dhyāna of the form realm. In realms above the second dhyāna, the five consciousnesses do not exist, including these three. The nose consciousness and tongue consciousness exist only in the desire realm; they do not exist in the first dhyāna of the form realm and above, because beings in the form realm do not smell scents or taste flavors, subsisting solely on the joy of meditation.

The five consciousnesses have the five universally active mental factors, which can contact the five sense objects. Before and after contact, they can attend to the five sense objects. After contact, they can experience the five sense objects, perceive brightness and darkness, perceive glare and dimness—this is the mental factor of sensation. The mind will have the appearance of form objects, with appearances of brightness or darkness—this is the mental factor of perception. There is discrimination and confirmation—this is the mental factor of volition. After confirmation, they collaborate with the five-concomitant mental consciousness to upload the form objects to the mind base (manas). After the mind base discriminates, other instructions follow.

When the eye consciousness encounters glaring bright light, it rapidly closes the eyes. Is this the eye consciousness avoiding the bright light, the body consciousness avoiding the bright light, or the mind base choosing to avoid the bright light? The eye consciousness only has the function of discerning form objects; it lacks the function of opening and closing. Opening and closing belong to the activity of the body faculty; the eyelids are part of the body faculty, governed by the body consciousness and mind base. Closing the eyes is a decision of the mind base. After the decision, the body consciousness and mental consciousness cooperate to close the eyes. This shows that the mind base commands the operation of the five consciousnesses; even the five-concomitant mental consciousness must follow the mind base’s thoughts. Only the independent mental consciousness has its own separate thoughts and can influence the mind base, making suggestions and demands.

This illustrates that the five consciousnesses lack autonomy. They are like tools, not even comparable to robots; they operate in whatever way the mind base directs, without their own thoughts or ideas, completely passive and obedient. So, what wholesome or unwholesome mental factors could such passive tools possess? First, the five consciousnesses lack the eleven wholesome mental factors. Firstly, the five consciousnesses lack the mental factor of faith, because the object of faith is mental objects, principles, and truth. The five consciousnesses only correspond to the five sense objects; they do not correspond to mental objects, much less principles and truths. How could they involve belief or disbelief? Before arising, they do not involve belief or disbelief; after arising, they are governed by the mind base, discerning, recognizing, and confirming the five sense objects, without belief or disbelief.

Next, the mental factors of shame and remorse—these are mental factors involving self-reproach and regret that only the independent mental consciousness can possess. The five consciousnesses lack the power of thought and have no mental activity; how could they have shame and remorse? Facing the five sense objects, how could they have thoughts of recollection, retrospection, introspection, or self-examination to generate shame and remorse? This is fundamentally illogical.

Next, the mental factor of lightness and ease—the eye, ear, nose, and tongue consciousnesses do not have lightness and ease; only the body consciousness can experience lightness and ease together with the mental consciousness. The mental factor of non-heedlessness, also called diligence—the mind base and independent mental consciousness have diligence; the five consciousnesses and five-concomitant mental consciousness do not. The eye consciousness and mental consciousness see and discriminate forms day and night without rest; superficially, this seems diligent, but it is like mechanical, automated behavior, like an automated robotic process controlled by an underlying program. If the underlying commander is diligent, the robot must operate ceaselessly, without its own thoughts or will. Because the mind base and independent mental consciousness are diligent, the five consciousnesses and five-concomitant mental consciousness have no choice but to operate day and night.

Next, the mental factor of relinquishment—abandoning a harmful behavior—this thought exists in the mind base and independent mental consciousness. The five consciousnesses, which only correspond to the five sense objects, lack such thoughts; their singular function does not permit it, exceeding their predetermined operational scope. Similarly, the mental factor of non-harming—the five consciousnesses lack it, for the same reason as relinquishment. Finally, the three mental factors of non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion—since the five consciousnesses do not correspond to mental objects and lack thoughts of greed, hatred, or delusion, they also lack thoughts of non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion. Greed must be greed for dharmas (mental objects); the five consciousnesses do not correspond to dharmas, lacking the functional authority to discern or contemplate dharmas, so they cannot generate greed or non-greed; the same applies to hatred and delusion. Therefore, it is essential to observe each consciousness individually to understand its nature; conflating all consciousnesses together and mistaking the aggregate nature for that of a single consciousness leads to great misunderstanding.

Similarly, the five consciousnesses also lack any afflictive mental factors, whether major subsidiary afflictions, minor subsidiary afflictions, or root afflictions—none at all. The five consciousnesses are like marionettes, pulled by the strings of the mind base, completely obedient to the will of the mind base, directed wherever it points. Without any autonomy, how could they generate afflictions? What would they be afflicted about? The objects of affliction are all mental objects, which only the independent mental consciousness can ponder and consider. The five consciousnesses cannot cross this boundary; their functions do not match, just as a key can only open a lock, not start a fire for cooking or make soup. Two robots arguing with each other, sharp-tongued and unyielding, yet their tone of voice remains steady, without highs or lows, at a constant pace, devoid of any emotion, as if reading from a script—not the slightest affliction, because this is controlled and determined by a program. The five consciousnesses are likewise, without the slightest affliction, turning according to the will of the mind base.

Next, the five mental factors of particular objects. First, the mental factor of aspiration—planning, intending to achieve goals, etc.—only consciousnesses corresponding to mental objects can have this function. Before arising, the five consciousnesses fundamentally cannot have it; after arising, moment by moment, they must completely obey the instructions of the mind base—where would they have their own plans? What opportunity would they have to generate such thoughts? Second, the mental factor of conviction—the five consciousnesses can firmly comprehend the five sense objects they discern, rapidly confirming without hesitation; therefore, the five consciousnesses possess the mental factor of conviction. Third, the mental factor of mindfulness—the five consciousnesses lack it due to functional limitations, just as a robot, no matter what, has no thoughts; everything is within the setting of a human program, without autonomy. The five consciousnesses are also like AI, completely procedural, without their own thoughts or ideas. Like a broom or mop, completely directed and controlled, without any thoughts or ideas.

Fourth, the mental factor of concentration—the five consciousnesses can remain fixed on a single sense object for a long time, discerning it, but this is determined by the mind base. It is because the mind base and independent mental consciousness have concentration that they can maintain the stability of the five consciousnesses. Fifth, the mental factor of wisdom—the five consciousnesses can completely and correctly recognize the five sense objects; this is wisdom, so they possess the mental factor of wisdom. To summarize, the five consciousnesses possess the mental factors of conviction and wisdom; the other three mental factors they lack. As for all wholesome and unwholesome mental factors, only the mind base and independent mental consciousness fully possess them, generating wholesomeness, unwholesomeness, or neutrality according to circumstances—the three natures change according to the mind.