The Operational Process of the Five Universally Pervading Mental Factors (Part 2)

The five pervasive mental factors initially operate in the order of attention, contact, feeling, and perception, but later this order is not fixed, and the sequence of their operation may become reversed. The factor of volition does not necessarily arise at a specific time, nor does the mind faculty always make a decision at a fixed moment. Volition may appear many times in the middle of the process: initially, it makes a small decision or a partial choice regarding a certain aspect of the process, and only at the end does it reach a final, overall decision. The intermediate decisions are not ultimate, but they still play a corresponding role in the final determination. For example, after finishing this mouthful of food, volition must decide whether to eat the next mouthful, as well as what and how much to eat. When the entire meal is finished, volition must make a final decision that the meal is over and no more food will be eaten, whereupon the five-aggregate body will put down the bowl and chopsticks. Sometimes, when one does not wish to eat more but is urged by someone nearby to eat a little more, volition may be indecisive at that moment. It then weighs the pros and cons, rapidly directing attention, contact, feeling, and perception toward the food consumed and the sensations in the stomach, and finally decides that no more can be eaten, thus bringing the meal to an end.

Attention is the beginning of the mind's activity and the starting point of the arising, abiding, change, and cessation of all phenomena. Without attention, one cannot make contact with phenomena; without contact, one cannot receive and experience them; without reception, one cannot cognize them; without cognition, there is no deliberation or decision; and without decision, there is no action of body, speech, or mind. Therefore, attention is very important, but volition is even more so, as its function is the greatest, and its process may be the longest. However, during the processes of feeling, perception, and volition, contact must be present; without contact, there is no feeling, perception, or volition. Thus, contact is also very important. Feeling and perception are the prerequisites and foundations of volition; without feeling and perception, there is no subsequent action of body, speech, or mind, and the mind becomes tranquil and pure. Therefore, a great practitioner only has a slight and brief attention toward phenomena; after making contact, if no feeling arises and no desire to cognize emerges, there is no further action or creation, and the mind remains both inactive and undisturbed.

When a phenomenon is being processed, attention persists throughout. When one engages in detailed contemplation, the six sense objects transform into a separate mental object. A shift in the focus of the phenomenon indicates the emergence of a new attention. At the very beginning, from attention to perception, the operation of attention, contact, feeling, perception, and volition may be extremely brief and rapid, reaching volition in an instant. Because cognition is unclear, the deliberation becomes obscure, necessitating a renewed cycle of attention, contact, feeling, and perception. This process repeats over and over, continuously and without interruption. Observing this process in detail is extremely difficult, and even a rough observation is quite challenging. However, by examining the bodily actions, verbal actions, thoughts, and views of oneself and others, one can partially discern this process through comparison.