Consciousness Is a Dharma Arising from Causes and Conditions

The mind consciousness is a dharma arising from causes and conditions: it requires sense objects, the manas's mental engagement (manaskāra) and deliberation, and the eighth consciousness transmitting seeds; and in the case of the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses (pañcavijñāna-sahagata-manovijñāna), it also requires the coordination of the five sense objects and the five sense consciousnesses before the functions of the mind consciousness can manifest. The functions of the mind consciousness include cognizing the various dharmas, cognizing the five sense consciousnesses, cognizing the manas, and cognizing the functions of the eighth consciousness; it can also introspect upon its own mind.

When one is asleep, the mind consciousness ceases and cannot cognize, much less introspect; when dreaming, the mind consciousness has cognition but hardly any power of introspection; when unconscious, the mind consciousness has ceased—there is no cognition and no introspection; at death, the mind consciousness ceases—there is no cognition and no introspection; in the intermediate state (antarā-bhava), the mind consciousness has cognition but weak power of introspection; from the second dhyāna upward, the mind consciousness has cognition but its power of introspection is extremely weak, or there is no introspection; in the concentration of no perception (asaṃjñā-samāpatti), the mind consciousness has ceased—there is no cognition and no introspection; in the cessation of perception and feeling (nirodha-samāpatti), the mind consciousness has ceased—there is no cognition and no introspection. Dull and slow-witted people have cognition but weak power of introspection, or no introspection at all.