The Operational Process of the Five Omnipresent Mental Factors

The five universal mental factors initially operate in the sequence of attention, contact, sensation, perception, and volition, but later the order may become reversed. The volitional mental factor does not necessarily arise at a fixed time, nor does the mental faculty make decisions at a specific moment. Numerous deliberations may occur intermittently, beginning with minor decisions or partial choices regarding certain aspects, culminating in a final, comprehensive decision at the end. While the intermediate decisions are not ultimate, they still contribute correspondingly to the final resolution. For example, after finishing one bite of food, the volitional mental factor must decide whether to take another bite, what to eat, and how much. When the entire meal is finished, the volitional mental factor makes an overarching decision to cease eating, prompting the body composed of the five aggregates to set down the utensils. Sometimes, even if one initially decides to stop eating, persuasion from others may cause hesitation. At such times, the volitional mental factor weighs the pros and cons, swiftly attending to the food consumed and the sensations in the stomach through contact, sensation, and perception, ultimately concluding that no more should be eaten, thereby ending the meal.

Attention is the commencement of mental activity and the origin of the arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing of all dharmas. Without attention, there is no contact with dharmas; without contact, there can be no reception or sensation; without reception, there can be no knowing; without knowing, there can be no deliberation or decision; without decision, there is no karmic activity of body, speech, or mind. Therefore, attention is crucial, but volition is even more significant, playing the most vital role, and its process may be the most prolonged. However, during sensation, perception, and volition, contact must invariably occur. Without contact, there can be no sensation, perception, or volition; thus, contact is also essential. Sensation and perception are the prerequisites and foundation for volition. Without sensation or perception, there can be no subsequent karmic activities of body, speech, or mind; the mind-consciousness then grows still and pure. Hence, great practitioners maintain only slight and momentary attention toward dharmas. Upon contact, they do not give rise to sensory experiences or seek to know, thereby preventing further actions or karmic activities—resulting in neither mental engagement nor external affairs.

When a dharma is in operation, attention persists continuously. When one examines closely, the six sense objects transform into distinct mental objects. The shift in the focus of the dharma indicates the emergence of a new act of attention. In the initial process from attention to perception, the operation of attention, contact, sensation, perception, and volition may be exceedingly brief and rapid, reaching volition in an instant. Due to unclear knowing, deliberation becomes muddled, necessitating renewed attention, contact, sensation, and perception. This process repeats itself continuously and uninterruptedly. Observing this process in detail is extremely difficult; even a rough observation is considerably challenging. However, by observing one's own and others' bodily actions, verbal expressions, thoughts, and views, it is possible to discern portions of it through comparison.