The Functioning Process of the Five Universal Mental Factors (1)

When the six faculties contact the six sense objects, the six consciousnesses arise. The six faculties together with the six sense objects constitute the twelve entrances (āyatanas). The six faculties refer to the supreme faculties (indriya)—the five supreme faculties located in the back of the brain, plus the manas, making the six faculties, also called the six inner entrances. The six sense objects are the five inner sense objects, plus the form included in the dharma base (dharmāyatana), making the six inner sense objects, also called the six outer entrances. The six inner entrances and the six outer entrances together are called the twelve entrances. Among them, the faculties and the sense objects are always in contact together; the six inner sense objects arise in the supreme faculties at the back of the brain and contact the six faculties. Only when faculties and sense objects are together can there be contact; after contact, the manas attends and deliberates, and only then can the eighth consciousness produce the six consciousnesses.

Where do the faculties and sense objects contact each other? At the location of the five supreme faculties at the back of the brain, the five sense objects, together with the mental sense objects, manifest at the supreme faculties at the back of the brain; the five inner sense objects are produced at the supreme faculties at the back of the brain, and thus the faculties and sense objects make contact. After the faculties and sense objects make contact, the manas attends and decides to discern, and the eighth consciousness produces the five consciousnesses. At the same time, the mental sense objects that depend on the five sense objects are also at the supreme faculties at the back of the brain, contacting the manas, and the eighth consciousness simultaneously produces the mind consciousness, which discerns the six sense objects together with the five consciousnesses—this is called consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna).

When the six faculties contact the six sense objects and the six consciousnesses are produced, the three then combine and contact one another. The six consciousnesses, relying on the six faculties, again contact the six sense objects, and can then discern the six sense objects. While the six consciousnesses are discerning, the faculties and sense objects must remain in contact; if the faculties and sense objects separate, the six consciousnesses cease. After the six consciousnesses contact the six sense objects, there is the nature of reception—receiving and accepting the six sense objects—and the mental factor of feeling appears. After accepting the six sense objects, the six consciousnesses have discerned the six sense objects and grasped (upādāna) the six sense objects, and the mental factor of perception emerges.

After discerning the six sense objects, the six consciousnesses begin to deliberate (manasikāra). If the deliberation is unclear, they attend again, generating attention toward the six sense objects once more. After attending, there is discernment again, and feeling again; at this point, the feelings of suffering, happiness, sorrow, joy, and neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā) emerge. The initial feeling is reception and acceptance; after accepting, it is as if the six sense objects have been taken in, and only then does one know what the six sense objects are—this acceptance represents taking them in. The feeling that comes later carries emotional coloring, and the feelings of suffering, happiness, sorrow, joy, and neutrality will arise.

After the feelings emerge, if the feelings are not clear, one takes the mark and discerns again, and the mental factor of perception will arise again. After the mental factor of perception arises and discerns, deliberation begins again. If the deliberation is unclear, there is contact again; after contact, there is reception and feeling, or at this point one attends again, and then there is discernment again. There is contact again, discernment again; here the order of the subsequent mental factors becomes scrambled. After discernment and feeling, deliberation follows again, until finally the matter is deliberated clearly and discerned distinctly, and the six consciousnesses give rise to a decisive mind. The manas knows the decisive mind of the six consciousnesses, then gives rise to its own final decision, and begins to act—this is the mental factor of volition (cetanā).

The content discerned by the six consciousnesses must also be transmitted to the manas, and the manas, at the same time, toward the content discerned by the six consciousnesses and their mental activities, employs the five universal mental factors, giving rise to a series of psychological activities. Finally, when the manas gives rise to a decisive mind, deciding how to act, the eighth consciousness discerns this and, in accordance with the manas's deliberated decision and the dharmas He attends to, operates in coordination. Because the eighth consciousness must know what the manas is attending to, which aspect of the sense-object realm it attends to; only after knowing this can the eighth consciousness manifest the six consciousnesses upon that sense-object realm. Once the six consciousnesses manifest, the bodily, verbal, and mental actions begin to be performed.

If the manas has not yet deliberated clearly, then the manas will continue to contact, continue to attend, continue to feel, continue to discern, and finally deliberate again and make a decision. Before the decision is made, the five universal mental factors keep running back and forth; their sequence may not follow the order of attention, contact, feeling, perception, volition, and may even be reversed. Contact may come first and discernment after; or contact may come first and feeling after, with discernment following the feeling. Perhaps after discernment there is feeling again; if the feeling and discernment are unclear, deliberation continues. If the deliberation is unclear, there is contact again, feeling again, discernment again.

Thus, which mental factor comes first is not certain; the order here becomes scrambled. In the beginning there is attention; attention is certainly at the seed stage. At the seed stage, attention arises corresponding to that mental sense object; then the consciousness seeds are produced, and at the place of that mental sense object, the manas contacts the mental sense object and attends to that mental sense object; the seeds are generated onto that mental sense object, forming the conscious mind. Contact with that mental sense object—attention comes first, then the seeds are produced; only after the seeds emerge and form the conscious mind can there be contact with the mental sense object.

After contact, there is reception; after reception, one takes the mark and discerns; after discernment, one deliberates. If the deliberation is unclear, there is contact again; after contact there is reception and feeling, or at this point one attends again, and then there is discernment again. There is contact again, discernment again; here the order of the subsequent mental factors becomes scrambled. The initial order follows the sequence of attention, contact, feeling, perception, volition—such is the operation of the five universal mental factors.