Is Fear a Cetasika?

Question: The feeling of fear often arises. Is fear a mental factor? Why is fear not listed among the fifty-one mental factors? When the mind is afraid, is it the consciousness or the manas (root mind) that experiences fear? Some fears arise inexplicably, without any apparent cause. Is that the manas being afraid? Answer: The mental activity of fear cannot be found within the fifty-one mental factors because sentient beings possess an extensive variety of mental factors. The fifty-one mental factors are merely a general summary; they do not encompass all mental factors, especially the extremely subtle ones. If all were included, they would number in the hundreds or more. The Mahāyāna Treatise on the Hundred Dharmas does not contain a complete list of mental factors; there are also treatises on a thousand dharmas, ten thousand dharmas, and a hundred million dharmas. Beyond the hundred dharmas, there are an immense number of dharmas not included. Therefore, fear is indeed a mental factor; it's simply that the Treatise on the Hundred Dharmas did not summarize or include it. Hence, when we study Buddhism and practice, we should not dogmatically assume that the teachings we currently encounter are necessarily ultimate, unchangeable, or inflexible.

When thoughts of fearful people or events arise, it is first the manas that thinks of them. When it cannot figure things out or when it intends to initiate some action, it then instructs the consciousness to think carefully and generate a reaction. Fear operates on two levels. Superficial fear is the fear of the conscious mind; it does not touch the fundamental level and does not cause physical or mental impact or consequences. Profound fear, however, is the fear of the manas. When severe, it is called terror. It causes significant internal agitation, eliciting varying degrees of physical reactions, leading to changes in breath, blood flow, and neural transmission, which in turn can induce pathological changes in the limbs and internal organs. If, during sleep, the manas senses a change in the surrounding environment and experiences fear or terror, it will prompt the six consciousnesses to awaken to investigate what frightening event is occurring. During nightmares, if the manas becomes extremely afraid, it causes the consciousness to wake up, escaping the nightmare.

The fear experienced by consciousness and the fear experienced by manas are distinct. Fear arising in consciousness does not induce various physical conditions, whereas fear arising in manas produces physical symptoms, such as trembling, pallor, heart palpitations, accelerated blood flow, etc. Manas fear also elicits emotional reactions, like nervousness, inner anxiety, etc. These symptoms indicate that it is the manas that is afraid. Fear confined to consciousness alone is not genuine fear and does not cause physical reactions. The manas controls the nervous system, directing the functioning of the entire body. Therefore, when a mental activity arises in the manas, the whole body reacts accordingly. Mental activities in consciousness cannot move the entire body because the nervous system governing the body is commanded by the manas, not by consciousness.

If the fear is inexplicable, and the conscious mind feels afraid without knowing what it is afraid of, pondering over and over, "What am I afraid of?" – yet still feeling afraid without knowing the cause – then it is the fear of the manas. The fear of the manas cannot be clearly explained to consciousness; consciousness does not understand it, yet it simply knows the feeling of fear. That is the fear of the manas, the fear from the depths of the mind – it is the fear of the manas.