How Do the Five Universal Mental Factors of the Eighth Consciousness Function?

The five universal mental factors of the eighth consciousness operate moment by moment alongside the eighth consciousness, never separating from it even for an instant. This is because the eighth consciousness continuously functions upon all dharmas, discerning karmic seeds, discerning the five aggregates body, discerning the material world, and discerning the mental activities of the mental faculty (manas). Whenever dharmas manifest through the eighth consciousness, the eighth consciousness can discern them, and thus the five universal mental factors operate in conjunction with it.

The mental factor of attention (manaskāra) causes the eighth consciousness to focus on all dharmas it discerns, directing the mind toward the dharmas to be discerned. Next, contact (sparśa) occurs with the dharmas to be discerned. Then comes reception (vedanā) of the dharmas currently in contact. Following this, the discernment (saṃjñā) of the received dharmas causes the appearance of the characteristics of those dharmas in the mind. This differs significantly from the characteristics of dharmas arising within the seven consciousnesses. The eighth consciousness does not exhibit characteristics of worldly dharmas; it does not manifest specific appearances of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or mental objects. However, it invariably discerns the distribution and operational state of the six great seeds (ṣaḍbīja) within the dharmas. Subsequently, the mental factor of volition (cetanā) arises within the eighth consciousness, determining how to produce corresponding dharmas or modify them. By regulating the output of the six great seeds, it causes dharmas to manifest phenomena of arising, ceasing, and transformation.

The eighth consciousness’s discernment of the seventh consciousness (manas) primarily discerns the mental factors of the mental faculty and discerns the dispersion and concentration of consciousness seeds. It thereby knows which dharmas the seventh consciousness is focused on and what actions it intends to perform. When permitted by the karmic seeds, the eighth consciousness satisfies the desires and thoughts of the seventh consciousness.