The Presence of the Mental Factor of Volition (Cetanā) Does Not Imply the Presence of Grasping at Dharmas

An arhat in the cessation meditative absorption (nirodha-samāpatti) has long since extinguished the self-grasping of the five aggregates; otherwise, He could not have attained the fourth fruit, much less cultivated the cessation meditative absorption. When an arhat cultivates to the fourth dhyāna, He is already free from the bondage of the five aggregates—free in life and death, able to leave when He wishes and stay when He wishes—and having cultivated the cessation meditative absorption, He becomes even more at ease.

When an arhat is in the first dhyāna, He no longer has grasping at a self of persons; He does not grasp at the feeling, perception, or volition mental factors, nor at the material body—it is not necessary for the two mental factors of feeling and perception to cease before there is no grasping. Whether there is grasping or not is the function of the manas's mental factors as a whole, not necessarily the function of the individual mental factors of feeling, perception, or volition. The same applies to grasping at dharmas: it is the function of the manas's mental factors as a whole. For example, in the cessation meditative absorption, the manas has the mental factors of attention (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), and volition (cetanā), all of which are functions directed toward dharmas. Whether or not there is grasping at dharmas is not the operation of the single volition mental factor; it is the result of the collective arising and operation of the mental factors as a whole.

However, the manas of all Buddhas has completely extinguished grasping at dharmas. Their manas possesses not only the five universal mental factors, but also the five particular mental factors and the eleven wholesome mental factors. With so many mental factors, their grasping nature has nevertheless been extinguished. The Buddha's manas has no grasping at dharmas, yet the volition mental factor still operates ceaselessly. The undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna) discerns the manas's volition mental factor and, in coordination with the manas, manifests immeasurable Buddha-lands in the ten directions. In fact, the tathāgatagarbha can discern the manas's mental factors in their entirety. The volition mental factor has the function of decision-making; after the tathāgatagarbha discerns it, it cooperates with the manas according to the manas's decisions to carry out its tasks, presenting to the manas all the dharmas it needs.

The Basis for the Manas's Deliberation and Decision-Making

On what basis does the manas deliberate (manasikāra) and make decisions? First, the ingrained experiences formed over beginningless kalpas; second, the results of discernment transmitted from the six consciousnesses, which can serve as reference. Then, drawing upon its own experience and wisdom, it can deeply deliberate on the various mental-object realms and make correct judgments and decisions. The prerequisite is still that the mental objects the manas engages with are relatively few—that is, when there is a certain degree of meditative concentration—so that its judgments and decisions are more imbued with wisdom. The deeper the concentration, the more prominent the manas's function; its deliberation becomes clearer, faster, and more efficient, and its wisdom becomes higher. Meditative concentration can aid the manas's discernment and deliberation: when the manas's consciousness seeds are less dispersed and become concentrated, its power of discernment becomes strong, its discerning wisdom is enhanced, and its wisdom can fully manifest. This applies equally to attaining the fruits and to enlightenment, and to realizing all Buddhist dharmas as well as worldly dharmas.

When the manas faces many realms, it is selective—this is its deliberative and decision-making nature. On what basis does it make its choices? The manas has discerning wisdom and can know whether a dharma is important or not, so it makes decisions based on whether a dharma is beneficial and important to itself. The manas's degree of grasping differs for different dharmas. Why does it differ? Because He knows which dharmas are beneficial to Himself and which dharmas are important.

Seeds cannot force the manas to grasp. For example, after an arhat's manas has severed grasping, He is no longer interested in worldly dharmas; even though the seeds have all flowed forth, He still chooses not to see, not to hear, and not to think about them—there are no thoughts or longings in His mind. Why does the manas allow the mind consciousness to discern some dharmas clearly? It is still because the manas has intention and interest in them that the tathāgatagarbha cooperates by giving rise to the mind consciousness, in order to discern those dharmas with emphasis and in detail.