Viewing the Mental Factors of the Mind Base from the Perspective of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination

The three links in the twelve links of dependent origination—ignorance conditioning volitional actions, volitional actions conditioning consciousness, and consciousness conditioning name and form—clearly reveal that the suffering of birth, aging, illness, and death for sentient beings is entirely caused by the ignorance of the mental faculty (manas). Due to the ignorance of the mental faculty, sentient beings generate good and evil karma and undergo the six realms of rebirth. The ignorance of the mental faculty encompasses all afflictions and is endowed with all the mental factors of affliction. Because sentient beings possess all afflictions, they experience both fractional birth-and-death (分段生死) and transformational birth-and-death (变易生死). Once the ignorance of the mental faculty is completely eradicated, sentient beings attain Buddhahood. At that time, the mental faculty is endowed with all wholesome mental factors, which constantly accompany its functioning. Previously, especially in the stage of ordinary beings, these wholesome factors were not constant and rarely accompanied the mental faculty.

In summary, the mental faculty is endowed with all mental factors, no less than the consciousness (manovijñāna). If the mental faculty were not endowed with all the mental factors of affliction, the mind would not be so defiled, would create fewer karma of birth-and-death, and would experience less suffering. However, sentient beings, over countless eons, have been fully endowed with all the suffering of birth-and-death and have created all kinds of karma of birth-and-death, indicating that the mental faculty is endowed with all the mental factors of affliction. If the mental faculty were not endowed with all wholesome mental factors, the mind could not become completely and utterly pure, and thus Buddhahood could not be attained. Yet, all sent beings will ultimately attain Buddhahood, so the mental faculty is endowed with all wholesome mental factors. However, these wholesome and unwholesome mental factors do not constantly accompany the functioning of the mental faculty. For ordinary beings, only the four fundamental afflictions—view of self, self-conceit, self-attachment, and self-ignorance—constantly and unceasingly accompany the mental faculty, never departing from it for a moment. Thus, it is evident that these four fundamental afflictions are the root cause of the karma of birth-and-death and the suffering of birth-and-death. From these four fundamental afflictions, other afflictions arise, manifesting intermittently.

Once the affliction of the view of self is severed, the other three fundamental afflictions will gradually be eradicated as well. Once the four fundamental afflictions are completely severed, all other afflictions will be entirely eradicated, and fractional birth-and-death will be ended. Therefore, after sentient beings sever the view of self, the affliction of the view of self can neither constantly nor intermittently accompany the functioning of the mental faculty. Furthermore, after self-attachment and self-conceit are completely eradicated, these afflictions can neither constantly nor intermittently accompany the mental faculty; they will never again accompany its functioning. The same applies to the affliction of self-ignorance. Once it is completely eradicated, the manifest afflictions of the mental faculty are exhausted. Upon death, one can depart from the three realms and enter the remainderless nirvāṇa (无余涅槃).

The wholesome mental factors of the mental faculty of ordinary beings are not complete and do not constantly accompany its functioning; rather, they appear and disappear, manifest and conceal intermittently. Once the mental faculty eradicates the mental factors of affliction, the wholesome mental factors gradually become complete and will constantly accompany the mental faculty. This is the mental conduct of sages, not that of ordinary beings. In summary, for ordinary beings, only the four fundamental afflictions constantly accompany the mental faculty; other afflictions appear and disappear intermittently. This is exactly as described in the *Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra* (瑜伽师地论). The wholesome mental factors of the mental faculty of ordinary beings also appear and disappear intermittently. After eradicating afflictions and becoming sages, the wholesome mental factors will frequently accompany the mental faculty, and ultimately, they will constantly accompany its functioning.

In recent decades, many people have greatly misunderstood the mental factors of the mental faculty. The reason is that due to a severe deficiency in meditative concentration (定) and wisdom (慧), they are unable to directly observe the mental conduct of the mental faculty. Their comprehension is also weak, leading to misunderstandings of the bodhisattvas' expositions. This misunderstanding has persisted to the present day. Because the levels of meditative concentration and wisdom among the great bodhisattvas vary, their expositions may inevitably contain contradictions. If such a situation arises, one should rely primarily on the exposition of Bodhisattva Maitreya, who possesses the deepest wisdom. If there is support from the Buddhist scriptures, one should rely primarily on the scriptures. If there is no scriptural support, one should rely on the true realization (证量) and the facts, for facts ultimately speak louder than rhetoric.