An Explanation of the Verses on the Structure of the Eight Consciousnesses (Part 2)

Original text:眼耳身三二地居。遍行别境善十一。中二大八贪瞋痴。

Explanation: First, let us explain the concepts. The universal mental factors (sarvatraga) refer to the five universal mental factors: mental engagement (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā). The object-specific mental factors refer to the five object-specific mental factors: desire (chanda), determination (adhimokṣa), mindfulness (smṛti), meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā). There are eleven wholesome mental factors: faith (śraddhā), shame (hrī), remorse (apatrāpya), non-greed (alobha), non-hatred (adveṣa), non-delusion (amoha), tranquility (praśrabdhi), diligence (apramāda), equanimity of action (upekṣā), and non-harm (ahiṃsā). There are twenty derivative afflictive mental factors. The minor derivative afflictions are: rage (krodha), resentment (upanāha), concealment (mrakṣa), spite (pradāsa), jealousy (īrṣyā), stinginess (mātsarya), deceit (māyā), dissimulation (śāṭhya), harmfulness (vihiṃsā), and arrogance (mada). The middling afflictions are: lack of shame (āhrīkya) and lack of remorse (anapatrāpya). The major derivative afflictions are: restlessness (auddhatya), torpor (styāna), lack of faith (āśraddhya), laziness (kausīdya), non-diligence (pramāda), forgetfulness (muṣitasmṛtitā), and non-discernment (asaṃprajanya). The root afflictions include greed, hatred, and delusion.

Among the five sense consciousnesses, the eye consciousness, ear consciousness, and body consciousness—these three consciousnesses—exist only in two realms: the desire realm and the first dhyāna of the form realm. In realms from the second dhyāna upward, none of the five sense consciousnesses exist, including these three. The nose consciousness and tongue consciousness can exist only in the desire realm; in realms from the first dhyāna of the form realm upward, they no longer exist, because the devas of the form realm do not use smell or taste, but take the bliss of dhyāna as their food.

The five sense consciousnesses possess the five universal mental factors and can contact the five sense objects; before and after contact, they can direct mental engagement toward the five sense objects; after contact, they can receive the five sense objects, can perceive brightness and darkness, can perceive the glaring and the dim—this is the mental factor of feeling; the mind will hold the appearance of material form, with appearances of brightness or darkness—this is the mental factor of perception; there is discernment and confirmation—this is the mental factor of volition. After confirmation, together with the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses, the sense object is uploaded to the manas, and after the manas makes its decision, further instructions follow.

When the eye consciousness encounters glaring strong light, the eyes close rapidly. Is this the eye consciousness avoiding the strong light, the body consciousness avoiding the strong light, or the manas choosing to avoid the strong light? The eye consciousness has only the function of discerning material form; it has no function of opening and closing. Opening and closing belongs to the activity of the body faculty; the eyelids are part of the body faculty, governed by the body consciousness and the manas. Closing the eyes is a decision of the manas; after the decision, the body consciousness and mind consciousness cooperate to close the eyes. It is evident that it is the manas that directs the operation of the five sense consciousnesses, and even the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses must turn according to the manas's wishes. Only the solitary consciousness has its own independent thoughts and can influence the manas, offering suggestions and making requests to it.

This shows that the five sense consciousnesses have no autonomy; they are like tools, not even counting as robots—they operate in cooperation however the manas directs, without their own thoughts or ideas, completely passively obedient. So how could such passive tools have any wholesome or unwholesome mental factors? First, let us say that the five sense consciousnesses lack the eleven wholesome mental factors. First, the five sense consciousnesses have no mental factor of faith, because the object of faith is the mental sense-object, the principles and truth; the five sense consciousnesses correspond only to the five sense objects, not to the mental sense-object, let alone to matters and principles—how could there be talk of faith or disbelief? Before birth, faith or disbelief is not involved; after birth, they are governed by the manas, discerning, recognizing, and confirming within the five sense objects, with no faith or disbelief.

Next, the mental factors of shame and remorse—these are mental factors of self-reproach and regret that only the solitary consciousness can have. The five sense consciousnesses have no power of deliberation, nor any thoughts of their own; how could they have a mind of shame and remorse? Facing the objects of the five sense objects, how could they have thoughts of recollection, reminiscence, introspection, and self-examination, thereby giving rise to a mind of shame and remorse? This simply does not hold.

Next, the mental factor of tranquility: the four consciousnesses of eye, ear, nose, and tongue have no tranquility; only the body consciousness can, together with the mind consciousness, feel tranquility. As for the mental factor of diligence, also called effort (vīrya): the manas and the solitary consciousness have effort, while the five sense consciousnesses and the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses do not. The eye consciousness and mind consciousness see forms and discriminate forms ceaselessly day and night; on the surface this seems very diligent, but it is a mechanical, automated behavior, an automated process like a robot, regulated by the program behind it. When the one directing behind the scenes is diligent, the robot must run without cease, without its own thoughts and will. Because the manas and the solitary consciousness are diligent, the five sense consciousnesses and the mental consciousness accompanying them have no choice but to continue day and night.

Next, the mental factor of equanimity of action: the thought of abandoning some harmful behavior is something the manas and the solitary consciousness have; the five sense consciousnesses, which can only correspond to the five sense objects, do not have such thoughts—their single functions do not permit it, as it exceeds their pre-set range of operation. Next, the mental factor of non-harm: the five sense consciousnesses also lack it, for the same reason as equanimity of action. Finally, the three mental factors of non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion: because the five sense consciousnesses do not correspond to the mental sense-object and have no thoughts of greed, hatred, or delusion, they likewise have no thoughts of non-greed, non-hatred, or non-delusion. Greed is necessarily greed for dharmas; the five sense consciousnesses do not correspond to dharmas and lack the functional authority to discern and deliberate on dharmas, so they cannot give rise to greed or non-greed; the same applies to hatred and delusion. Therefore, one must observe each consciousness individually to know the nature of each consciousness; one cannot speak of all the consciousnesses lumped together—mistaking the combined nature for that of a single consciousness is a great error.

By the same reasoning, the five sense consciousnesses also have no afflictive mental factors whatsoever—whether major derivative afflictions, minor derivative afflictions, or root afflictions, they have not a single one. The five sense consciousnesses are like marionettes pulled by the strings of the manas, completely obeying the manas's will, striking wherever directed, with no autonomy whatsoever. How could they give rise to afflictions? What would they be afflicted about? The objects of affliction are all mental sense-objects, which only the solitary consciousness can ponder and consider; the five sense consciousnesses cannot overstep their boundaries—the functions do not match, just as a key can only open a lock, cannot light a fire to cook a meal, cannot stew soup. When two robots quarrel with each other, sharp-tongued and neither yielding to the other, yet their tone and pitch of speech are perfectly steady, without rises and falls, at a speed neither fast nor slow, without any emotion, as if reading from a script, without the slightest affliction—because this is controlled and determined by the program. The five sense consciousnesses are the same: without the slightest affliction, they turn according to the will of the manas.

Next, the five object-specific mental factors. First, the mental factor of desire: this is intention and planning, wanting to achieve a goal, and so on. Only a consciousness that corresponds to the mental sense-object can have this function; the five sense consciousnesses absolutely cannot have it before they arise, and after arising, they must completely obey the manas's instructions moment by moment—how could they have their own plans? What opportunity would they have to give rise to such thoughts? Second, the mental factor of determination: the five sense consciousnesses can have determination regarding the five sense objects they discern, able to confirm quickly without hesitation; therefore the five sense consciousnesses have the mental factor of determination. Third, the mental factor of mindfulness: the five sense consciousnesses do not have it, due to the limitations of their function—just as a robot can never have thoughts no matter what, everything being set within a man-made program, with no autonomy. The five sense consciousnesses are likewise like AI, completely programmatic, without their own thoughts or ideas. They are like a broom or a mop, completely directed and controlled, without any thoughts or ideas at all.

Fourth, the mental factor of meditative concentration: the five sense consciousnesses can remain fixed on a single sense object for a long time in discernment, but this is determined by the manas; it is because the manas and the solitary consciousness have the power of meditative concentration that the stability of the five sense consciousnesses can be maintained. Fifth, the mental factor of wisdom: the five sense consciousnesses can identify the five sense objects completely correctly—this is wisdom; therefore they have the mental factor of wisdom. To summarize: the five sense consciousnesses have the mental factors of determination and wisdom, but lack the other three mental factors. As for all the wholesome and unwholesome mental factors, only the manas and the solitary consciousness possess them completely, giving rise to the wholesome or the unwholesome according to circumstances, or to the neutral (avyākṛta)—the three natures turn according to the mind.