The Mental Factors of Sentient Beings

What mental factor (caitta) is longing? What mental factor is thinking? What mental factor is research? What mental factor is deliberation? What mental factor is meditative investigation?

What functions does the volition mental factor (cetanā) have? What functions does the perception mental factor (saṃjñā) have?

What mental factor is understanding? What mental factor is willingness? What mental factor is hope? What mental factor is comprehension? What mental factor is intention? What mental factor is expectation? What mental factor is well-wishing? What mental factor is the power of aspiration? What mental factors are comprehending, realizing, and knowing? What mental factors are agreeing, endorsing, and echoing?

What mental factor is keeping something constantly in mind? What mental factor is an image in the mind that lingers and will not fade? What mental factor is never forgetting, moment after moment? What mental factor is bearing something firmly in mind? What mental factor is unwavering resolve? What mental factor is fixing the mind on one point? What mental factor is unblinking focus? What mental factor is conscience?

The states of the mind, the characteristics of the mind, personality, temperament, and disposition all belong to the mental factors; some are wholesome in nature, some are unwholesome in nature, and some are neither wholesome nor unwholesome. Strictly speaking, there are not only fifty-one mental factors—there are many; if one were to divide them finely, there would be at least several hundred, even a thousand or more. Bodhisattva Vasubandhu only roughly and coarsely summarized them into fifty-one, which is not comprehensive. If the Buddha were to categorize these mental factors, it would be extremely subtle and fine. Therefore, when we study Buddhism, apart from relying completely on what the Buddha said, we may rely on what others say, but we must handle it with discretion and have the ability to be flexible and adaptable. Even when relying on what the Buddha said, one should still have a certain capacity for flexibility; fully understanding what the Buddha said is also very difficult. Sometimes there is a certain difference and gap between the Buddha's words and the Buddha's intent—they are not entirely consistent—because sentient beings' wisdom is limited, and the Buddha cannot fully speak out His meaning; He often speaks in a veiled way, in a clever way, and when one's wisdom is insufficient, misunderstanding easily arises. Many people who expound Buddhist sutras are in fact not expounding the Buddha's original intent; the phenomenon of distorting the meaning of the Buddha's Dharma is far too common. The Buddha endures it all—though without a mind that endures.

Among the mental factors, apart from the five universally present mental factors, all other mental factors do not appear constantly; they only occasionally arise and operate at particular times. The five object-specific mental factors appear only at particular times; the wholesome and unwholesome mental factors, and the mental factors that are neither wholesome nor unwholesome, also appear only at particular times—they cannot manifest at every moment. At the stage of buddhahood, however, the mental factors may manifest at every moment. For example, the concentration mental factor: the Buddha's mind is constantly in meditative concentration (samādhi), never emerging from samādhi. For example, the wisdom mental factor: the Buddha's mind constantly possesses great wisdom, and there is never a time without wisdom. For example, the determination mental factor (adhimokṣa): the Buddha's mind can at every moment determine and apprehend all dharmas. For example, among the wholesome mental factors, non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion: the Buddha's mind is forever, at every moment, without greed, without hatred, without delusion.

Each person has their own personality, temperament, and disposition; everyone's mental factors are different. As complex as sentient beings' minds are, so complex is the world, for the world is conjured into being by the minds of sentient beings. If all sentient beings' minds were like the Buddha's mind, the world would be far simpler and far more sublime—light clouds and a gentle breeze, or even without even light clouds and a gentle breeze—quiet and still, serene and tranquil; no language could accurately describe that kind of beauty.

In the end, the world will all be like that; when sentient beings cultivate to the end, their minds will all be like that—wise and simple, not the least bit complicated, with personality and individuality all extinguished, temperament and disposition all eliminated, and the mental factors all wholesome with nothing unwholesome—only twenty-one, no more, no fewer. But to dissolve the mind to such a degree requires passing through three immeasurable kalpas; one can see how difficult cultivating the mind is, how hard it is to change the mind. If the mind does not change, one must suffer torment—tormenting oneself and tormenting others, mutually tormenting one another, not knowing that sentient beings share the same root, so they can only scorch one another and then stew in it themselves.