The Operational Process of the Five Universal Mental Factors (II)

The five universal mental factors (pañca-sarvatraga) initially operate in the sequence of mental engagement (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), feeling (vedanā), and perception (saṃjñā), but later this is not necessarily so, and the order of their operation may be reversed. The volition mental factor (cetanā) does not necessarily appear at any fixed time, and the manas does not necessarily make its decision at any fixed moment—there may have been many rounds of deliberation in between; at first there is a small decision, a partial decision about some particular link, and only at the end of the process is there a final, overall decision. The intermediate decisions are not ultimate, yet they also play their corresponding role in the final decision. For example, after finishing one mouthful of food, whether to take the next mouthful, and what to eat and how much—the volition mental factor must make a decision; when the whole meal is finished, the volition mental factor must also make an overall decision that the meal is over and no more will be eaten, and then the five-aggregate body will put down the bowl and chopsticks. Sometimes one does not want to eat any more, but someone nearby urges one to eat a little more; at this moment the volition mental factor may be unable to make up its mind, so it will weigh the pros and cons, gains and losses, and once again quickly apply mental engagement, contact, feeling, and perception to the food one has eaten and the sensations in the stomach, and finally deliberate that one cannot eat any more, and thus the meal comes to an end.

Mental engagement is the beginning of the activity of the consciousness-mind; it is the starting point of the arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing of all dharmas. Without mental engagement, one cannot contact dharmas; without contact, one cannot receive and feel them; without receiving, one cannot know them; without knowing, there can be no deliberation (manana) and decision; without decision, there is no bodily, verbal, or mental action. Therefore mental engagement is very important, but volition is even more important; volition has the greatest function, and the process of volition may last the longest. However, during feeling, perception, and volition, there is necessarily contact; without contact there is no feeling, perception, or volition, so contact is also very important. Feeling and perception are the premise and foundation of volition; without feeling and perception, there would be no subsequent bodily, verbal, or mental actions, and the consciousness-mind would be tranquil and pure. Therefore, a great practitioner only applies a slight and brief mental engagement to dharmas; after contact, no feelings arise, and there is no desire to know, so there is no subsequent action or karma—there is neither mind nor affair.

When a dharma is in operation, mental engagement is continuously present. When one thinks about something carefully, the six sense objects (ṣaḍ-viṣaya) transform into mental objects alone; the shifting of the focus of the dharma indicates that another new mental engagement has appeared. In the initial process from mental engagement to perception, the sequence of mental engagement, contact, feeling, perception, and volition may operate extremely briefly and extremely rapidly, reaching volition in an instant; because the knowing is unclear, the deliberation is also unclear, so one must again apply mental engagement, contact, feeling, and perception—this process repeats over and over, continuing without interruption. It is very difficult to observe this process in fine detail; even a rough observation is quite difficult. However, by observing one's own and others' bodily actions, verbal actions, thoughts, and views, one can also, by comparison, discern a portion of it.