What Is Uninterrupted Attention?

"间" (interval) means interval or interruption; "无间" (uninterrupted) means continuous, without interval or interruption. "作意" (manasikāra) means directing attention to dharmas — the mind turns toward dharmas and focuses on them. Attention is one of the five universal mental factors (pañca-sarvatraga-caitasika) of the consciousness mind; all eight consciousnesses possess attention and can each turn toward and focus on particular dharmas.

Is the attention of the eighth consciousness uninterrupted or interrupted? We know that all dharmas are produced and sustained by the eighth consciousness. Once the eighth consciousness no longer directs attention to a certain dharma, it no longer operates on that dharma and no longer produces seeds for that dharma; that dharma will certainly cease and disappear. Therefore, as long as a dharma exists, the eighth consciousness's attention must be operating continuously. However, the existence of all dharmas arises in two ways: first, the eighth consciousness spontaneously produces them according to mature karmic seeds; second, they arise through the manas's attention and clinging. Therefore, sometimes the eighth consciousness's attention is triggered by the manas's attention. Once the manas no longer directs attention, the eighth consciousness will no longer produce and sustain that dharma, and that dharma will inevitably vanish. Thus, for any dharma to exist, the manas's attention mental factor must also be operating. As long as a dharma continues to exist, the manas's attention mental factor must be operating continuously without interruption; otherwise, that dharma would inevitably disappear.

Therefore, the eighth consciousness's attention can be uninterrupted, and the manas's attention can be uninterrupted. Can the mind consciousness's attention be uninterrupted? We know that the mind consciousness is interrupted at many times each day and inevitably ceases involuntarily. Even if the mind consciousness has uninterrupted attention, it lasts only for a period of time; it cannot remain uninterrupted for twenty-four hours a day. When the mind consciousness does maintain uninterrupted attention for a period, this is entirely due to the manas's uninterrupted attention. Once the manas stops directing attention, the eighth consciousness no longer outputs the seeds of the mind consciousness, and the mind consciousness will inevitably disappear from that dharma.

Therefore, only when the manas has uninterrupted attention can the mind consciousness have uninterrupted attention for a period of time. In fact, most of the time, after the mind consciousness directs attention for a while, it becomes fatigued, then scatters and ceases; it does not sustain attention for very long. This is even more so for the five consciousnesses' attention. Without the manas's attention and without the eighth consciousness's attention, even a single moment of attention from the six consciousnesses would not exist. The six consciousnesses can only manifest and operate by relying on the eighth consciousness and the manas; they cannot be independent, because they cannot be the master.

Once the manas has formed uninterrupted attention toward a particular dharma, it means the mind consciousness has successfully perfumed it. The manas will then automatically and consciously direct the six consciousnesses to act according to the principle it has realized. In this way, mental activities will certainly change, and bodily, verbal, and mental actions will certainly change as well, without needing the mind consciousness to supervise and remind. Only when the manas has not yet been successfully perfumed does one need the mind consciousness to constantly supervise, remind, and regulate — this is because the manas is not self-aware; this is the case when it has not been perfumed and has not realized the dharma.