What Is Volitional Formation (saṃskāra)?

The scope of "formations" (saṃskāra) is extremely broad, encompassing the activities of all eight consciousnesses. In a broad sense, "formations" refers to movement, operation, action, change, flux, and so on—in short, all phenomena that never cease fall within the scope of formations. Seen this way, there simply exists no matter or principle, whether worldly or transcendent, that is without movement or activity. Even the eighth consciousness is constantly active and moving, never in stillness.

Why say this? First, because the eighth consciousness possesses the five universally present mental factors, and these five mental factors have never stopped for a single instant; they are always operating. Even in nirvāṇa without remainder, the five universally present mental factors of the eighth consciousness continue to operate without interruption. Second, the eighth consciousness itself also has its own seeds of consciousness constantly arising and ceasing moment by moment, and only in this way can the eighth consciousness continue to exist without interruption and keep operating without pause, never having halted for a single instant, thus constituting a consciousness that is neither born nor extinguished.

The five universally present mental factors of the eighth consciousness—mental engagement (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā)—operate as long as it exists; this is "formation." Moreover, the mental factor of volition itself carries the meaning of choice and decision, and also represents operation and activity. It is precisely the activity of the eighth consciousness that drives the continuous operation of all dharmas, their constant arising and ceasing. Therefore, in a broad sense, the eighth consciousness can also be included within the aggregate of formations—only this aggregate of formations is neither born nor extinguished. The eighth consciousness has the function of aggregating all dharmas, so broadly speaking, the eighth consciousness can also be called the aggregate of consciousness, and indeed it is the most fundamental aggregate of consciousness, an aggregate of consciousness that is neither born nor extinguished. It is precisely because of the functional nature of the eighth consciousness as an aggregate of consciousness that all dharmas can be aggregated together, allowing dharmas to arise, cease, and transform, and allowing sentient beings to transmigrate endlessly in saṃsāra, with suffering without end.

How exactly does the eighth consciousness operate? First, it outputs seeds and withdraws seeds, creating all the dharmas of the five-aggregate world, allowing all dharmas to constantly arise, cease, and transform without stillness; and it stores karmic seeds and releases karmic seeds. Second, with regard to karmic seeds and to all the dharmas of the five-aggregate world, it constantly engages in contact, mental engagement, feeling, perception, and volition, allowing all dharmas to operate ceaselessly in accordance with conditions. Even though the eighth consciousness is thus constantly active and never still, this in no way affects the still, unconditioned nature of its own mind; it does not affect its nature of neither seeing nor hearing all dharmas, of having no desires and no seeking; nor does it affect its nature of being unmoved and unshaken with regard to all dharmas.

The activity of the seventh consciousness includes the formations of ignorance in the twelve links of dependent arising, and also includes the formations without ignorance of the various noble ones. The formations of ignorance are the formations of birth, death, and transmigration; the formations without ignorance are the formations of liberation from birth and death. The activity of the seventh consciousness plays a decisive and crucial role in both saṃsāra and liberation. It is precisely the activity of the seventh consciousness that drives the eighth consciousness to aggregate the karmic seeds of the birth, death, and transmigration of the five aggregates, thereby aggregating the five-aggregate world. Therefore, again in a broad sense, the seventh consciousness also belongs to the categories of the aggregate of formations and the aggregate of consciousness.

The activity of the six consciousnesses is easier to observe and understand. The six consciousnesses are of the nature of dependence on others (paratantra), being formations that manifest passively. Whether in the broad or narrow sense, the six consciousnesses are all subsumed under the aggregate of consciousness. Because the bodily, verbal, and mental actions created by the six consciousnesses are precisely the cause for the accumulation of karmic seeds, the cause for the manifestation of the five-aggregate world, and the cause for the aggregation of name-and-form—although the aggregation is passive, they still account for a large portion of the aggregating function.