The Mental Factors of the Seventh Consciousness Are Not Fixed and Unchanging

The mental factors (caittas) are the mental activities of the conscious mind. Through continuous study and practice, and through constantly subduing one's own mind, the mental activities of the seven consciousnesses must undergo continual transformation: deep and heavy afflictions turn into mild afflictions, mild afflictions disappear, wholesome mental factors become ever more numerous and stronger, mental activities become ever purer, meditative concentration (samādhi) becomes ever more stable, and wisdom becomes ever deeper and more penetrating. Therefore, the mental factors must certainly be changed continually through practice. If one has practiced for a period of time but the mental factors have not changed at all, the afflictions have not become milder, meditative concentration has not arisen, and wisdom has not advanced, then one's practice is not yet effective.

The hallmark of whether a Buddhist practitioner achieves attainment lies in the mental factors. When true attainment is reached, the afflictive mental factors of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses are reduced and eliminated, the wholesome mental factors increase and become complete, the functions of the five particular mental factors increase and become complete, and at the stage of Buddhahood, all eight consciousnesses fully possess the twenty-one mental factors, with their functions exerted to the utmost. A genuine Buddhist practitioner should, at regular intervals, observe his own mental factors—that is, his mental activities. If he finds that his mind has undergone no transformation, it shows that his practice is not yet effective, and perhaps he has not yet gotten onto the right track. Each person's level and progress of practice differ, and so their mental factors differ; this shows that people's minds are all different. If someone claims that his mind consciousness has as many as fifty-one mental factors, while the afflictive mental factors of the manas remain as numerous and heavy as before, then such a person is a beginner in Buddhism, with extremely heavy afflictions and very poor character.

Generally, the mental factors discussed in the treatises by Bodhisattvas refer to the mental factors of the eight consciousnesses of ordinary beings and of Bodhisattvas who have not yet transformed the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti), not to the mental factors of the eight consciousnesses of post-bhūmi Bodhisattvas who have already transformed the basis. These mental factors must all undergo transformation through continuous practice, so that consciousness can be transformed into wisdom; only then does this represent achievement in practice, and only then can the path to Buddhahood gradually approach perfection. The transformation of the mental factors is the hallmark of attainment in practice.

In fact, before the transformation of the basis, after entering the Buddhist gate and achieving some results in practice, the mental factors of the several consciousnesses are already quietly transforming; it is only that the accumulated quantity is not yet sufficient to bring about a qualitative leap. Because the mental factors are the indicator of whether a person has practiced or not, even non-Buddhists who have attained meditative concentration have undergone some transformation in the mental factors of their seven consciousnesses; the mental factors are not fixed and unchanging, nor identical for everyone. Even among sentient beings who have not yet begun to practice, the mental factors of their conscious minds are not all the same—each has its own emphasis. Thus, one person's direct observation of his own mental factors reveals them to be thus, while another person's direct observation of his own mental factors reveals them to be otherwise; they are not necessarily the same. This shows that human natures each have their differences, and people's minds are not all alike.

If someone directly perceives that the mental factors of his own sixth consciousness include the six root afflictions of greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, doubt, and wrong view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi), as well as the eight universal afflictions, two middling afflictions, and ten minor afflictions, then such a person has no practice whatsoever—neither meditative concentration nor decent moral cultivation. Most people cannot directly perceive the mental factors of their own seventh consciousness; but if one could directly perceive that the mental factors of one's own seventh consciousness include intense greed, hatred, and delusion, as well as laziness, distraction, lack of faith, forgetfulness, restlessness, incorrect knowledge, non-diligence, torpor, strong grasping at self, deep-rooted arrogance, deep-rooted greed and attachment, a strong view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), a tendency toward seeking external objects—and all of these being stubborn and hard to change—then such a person has no practice at all, and meditative concentration would also be very difficult to develop.

If this person's seventh consciousness does not correspond at all with the eleven wholesome mental factors, then his practice has not even gotten started; his afflictions are very heavy, and he may be an evil person. Even ordinary people who have not studied Buddhism have a wholesome side to the mental factors of their manas; if the wholesome outweighs the unwholesome, such a person can ascend to the heavens after death and enjoy blessings. The transmigration through the six realms is determined by the wholesomeness or unwholesomeness of the manas' mental factors: if the manas is mentally wholesome and performs wholesome karma, one ascends to the heavens in the next life; if the manas is unwholesome and commits unwholesome karma, one falls into hell in the next life. From this we can know that for Bodhisattvas at the first bhūmi and beyond, who are in the stage of having transformed the basis, because they have eradicated afflictions and their minds have reached purity (anāsrava), the mental factors of their sixth and seventh consciousnesses must necessarily undergo transformation: the afflictive mental factors are eliminated, the wholesome mental factors increase, and the mental factors of meditative concentration and wisdom are strengthened. This is absolutely inevitable; otherwise they would be no different from ordinary beings.

When practice becomes effective, the universal afflictions are the first to lessen, and some must be eliminated. For example, the mental factor of non-faith lessens and is eliminated, gradually turning from non-faith into faith, and finally into complete faith; the mental factor of laziness lessens and is eliminated, and one gradually becomes diligent; the mental factor of non-diligence lessens and is eliminated—whereas before one constantly indulged one's body and mind in pleasure and idle amusement, now one has no interest in such things; the mental factor of torpor rarely appears anymore—whereas before one would feel drowsy as soon as one began practicing, now one's energy is vigorous and one's attention highly focused; the mental factor of restlessness also decreases and disappears—whereas before, when studying Buddhism, one's wandering thoughts flew about wildly, now experiences pass without leaving a trace, and one does not fantasize about the future; whereas before the mind was always scattered and distracted, now when contemplating the Dharma, one can concentrate for a period of time; whereas before one had incorrect knowledge of the Four Noble Truths, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, and other Buddhist teachings, now one's views are correct; whereas before, one would recite the Dharma in one's mind and forget it after a while, now one can keep it in mind continuously without forgetfulness.

As practice deepens, the middling afflictions will also become mild or even be eliminated. For example, whereas before, when one did wrong, one always lacked shame and remorse, now one's sense of shame and remorse gradually increases, and if one commits a major wrongdoing, one feels deeply ashamed. From this we can see that only when the afflictive mental factors decrease and lessen will the wholesome mental factors correspondingly increase and strengthen; when the afflictive mental factors are eliminated, the wholesome mental factors appear.