The Connotation of the Mental Factor of Affliction

Fundamental afflictions: greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, doubt, and wrong views—these six mental factors. They are called fundamental afflictions because they give rise to all other afflictions. Once the fundamental afflictions are eliminated, the subsequent twenty subsidiary afflictions, or even more, will gradually cease, just as when the root of a tree is cut off, its branches, trunk, and leaves will wither and not last long.

The major subsidiary afflictions include: lack of faith, laziness, heedlessness, drowsiness, restlessness, loss of mindfulness, incorrect knowledge, and distraction. The mental factor of lack of faith is eradicated when the stage of faith is fully cultivated, cutting off doubts about the Three Jewels, doubts about one’s own tathāgatagarbha, and doubts about one’s future attainment of Buddhahood. However, this does not eliminate lack of faith in all phenomena, only in basic and certain levels of phenomena. The mental factor of laziness is eliminated when the seven factors of enlightenment are cultivated, particularly when the factor of diligence arises; if one is not diligent, laziness may still appear. It is only upon reaching the stage of a third-stage or fourth-stage arhat, or a first-stage bodhisattva, that the mental factor of laziness is completely eradicated. Similarly, the mental factor of heedlessness diminishes when the mind of renunciation arises; its complete eradication requires cultivation to the stage of a third-stage arhat or above.

The mental factor of drowsiness disappears when the five hindrances are subdued through meditative concentration; it is eliminated after attaining the first dhyāna. The mental factor of restlessness likewise ceases when access concentration is fully developed; after attaining the first dhyāna, restlessness is eliminated, though it may reappear if meditative concentration is lost. Loss of mindfulness is also related to meditative concentration; when concentration is strong, one does not forget the object of cultivation, but when concentration weakens, this cannot be guaranteed. Distraction is also connected to the absence of meditative concentration, while incorrect knowledge is linked to a lack of wisdom; without cultivating the teachings on liberation, incorrect knowledge arises in the mind. The consciousness (mano-vijñāna) is associated with all major subsidiary afflictions; the five sense-consciousnesses alone do not possess these mental factors, but they can arise in conjunction with the consciousness, assisting the seventh consciousness (manas) and the consciousness in manifesting these afflictions. The seventh consciousness possesses all subsidiary afflictions except drowsiness. The eighth consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna) is not associated with any afflictive mental factors.

The intermediate subsidiary afflictions: shamelessness and lack of remorse. These are opposite to the mental factors of shame and remorse; when one does wrong, one fails to reflect, feels no shame toward others, and does not repent. The sixth and seventh consciousnesses are associated with shamelessness and lack of remorse; the five sense-consciousnesses can only have these in dependence on the sixth consciousness, assisting the sixth and seventh consciousnesses in manifesting these afflictions, but they cannot have them independently. The eighth consciousness does not possess these two afflictions.

The minor subsidiary afflictions: anger, resentment, concealment, deceit, flattery, arrogance, harm, jealousy, vexation, and stinginess. These are afflictions primarily rooted in anger, though some involve greed and miserliness. Generally, they are habitual tendencies that lie dormant in the seventh consciousness and are extremely difficult to eradicate. Even when fundamental afflictions are eliminated and one becomes an arhat, these habits are not easily removed; only through the long cultivation process of bodhisattvas on the stages (bhūmis) can they be gradually eliminated. However, arhats and bodhisattvas on the stages are not associated with every minor subsidiary affliction. The five sense-consciousnesses can assist the sixth and seventh consciousnesses in manifesting these afflictive mental factors, while the eighth consciousness does not possess these afflictive mental activities.