Do Citta and Caitta Each Possess Distinctive Modes of Operation?

The manifestation of the mind-king's operation is reflected in the flow and functioning of the seeds of consciousness. The manifestation of mental factors' operation is reflected in wholesome mental factors, unwholesome mental factors, neutral mental factors, as well as the five universal mental factors and the five specific mental factors. These mental factors are not brought over from the seeds of consciousness and are not one with them; each has its own distinct mode of operation. However, they integrate perfectly, cooperating seamlessly and perfectly.

Among the mental factors of the mind-king, the operation of the five universal mental factors and the five specific mental factors is difficult to distinguish from the operation and flow of the seeds of consciousness. Nevertheless, the two are not one; each has its own distinct mode of operation. This is because mental factors are constantly subject to change; they can not only increase and decrease but also become more refined. Their operation still differs somewhat from the operation of the seeds of consciousness, a distinction that is extremely difficult to discern and observe. Even if observed, it is hard to articulate in words.

For example, consider the mental factor of concentration (samādhi) among the five specific mental factors. The mind-king can become stabilized, giving rise to meditative concentration (dhyāna). This concentration can increase, decrease, and even disappear; the mental factor of concentration is constantly changing. These changes are certainly not brought over by the seeds of consciousness; they come from another source, such as being brought over by karmic seeds, arising along with the karmic seeds. If mental factors are mixed with karmic seeds, mental factors maintain a certain continuity across lifetimes. For instance, someone who practiced meditation in a past life will find the mental factor of concentration arising more easily with just a little meditation practice in this life. Although mental factors are related to karmic seeds, mental factors do not have their own separate seeds; they are bundled together with the seeds of bodily, verbal, and mental actions from past lives.

Furthermore, consider mental factors like the mental factor of conviction (adhimokṣa), the mental factor of mindfulness (smṛti), and the mental factor of desire (chanda). Each mental factor undergoes modification; mental factors are not fixed, they can increase, decrease, and undergo change. This is not something that emerges together from the seeds of consciousness; it is also related to karmic seeds, yet there are no separate karmic seeds for them. The content here is extremely profound.

For example, the mental factor of wisdom (prajñā) among the five specific mental factors certainly undergoes constant increase or decrease due to the conditioning (vāsanā) of the environment; it is constantly undergoing modification. However, the seeds of consciousness of the mind-king are not subject to modification; the nature of the seeds themselves is eternally pure like that. The only distinction lies in whether the outflow of the seeds is concentrated or scattered.

The outflow of the seeds of consciousness forms the substance of the mind-king, which is pure because the seeds of consciousness are pure. The seeds of consciousness are neither defiled nor characterized by wholesomeness or unwholesomeness. However, when combined with mental factors and operating in the form of mental factors, wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral mental activities arise. Therefore, the mental activities of the eight consciousnesses (mind-king) and the mental activities of the mental factors are essentially one. Mental factors are the mental activities of the mind-king. When the eight consciousnesses (mind-king) operate, they do so in the form of mental factors, particularly in the form of the five universal mental factors.

In the first chapter of the Yogācāra-bhūmi-śāstra by Bodhisattva Maitreya, it is stated that the five universal mental factors are the companions (sahakārin) of the mind-king. Whenever the mind-king operates, it must necessarily use the five universal mental factors as companions. Without the five universal mental factors, the mind-king cannot operate. This is stated in the first volume of the Yogācāra-bhūmi-śāstra. For example, before a seed of consciousness can arise, there must be a location for its arising; its place of birth must be determined. For instance, it arises on the color-form of a flower seen by the eye. After the mental faculty (manas) determines this location, the seed of consciousness proceeds to the location of the color-form of the flower at the superior sense faculty (indriya) and arises there; or it proceeds to the location of a certain sound, arising at the location where the sound-object appears at the superior sense faculty, or it arises at another location where the mental faculty intends to cognize. Therefore, before a seed of consciousness arises, there is the mental factor of attention (manasikāra). Attention means having a direction for arising, a position for birth. The mental factor of attention begins to operate even before the seed of consciousness arises. The mode of operation of the mental factors and the mind-king integrates perfectly; their modes of operation should be completely consistent. Superficially, what manifests is the mode of operation of the mental factors, but it also conceals the mode of operation of the outflow of the mind-king's seeds of consciousness. Although the two are consistent, each has its own distinct mode of operation.

Furthermore, the last of the five universal mental factors is the mental factor of volition (cetanā). The ultimate function of the mental factor of volition is to form karma (karma-formation). Once the mental factor of volition completes its formation, it is equivalent to the mind-king completing its formation. After the formation is complete, the consciousness-mind either ceases or shifts location, and then the mental factors also disappear. Based on this principle, the modes of operation of the mind-king and the mental factors are consistent; their operation is intertwined. The mode of operation is manifested in the operation of the mental factors, while concealing the mode of operation of the outflow of the seeds of consciousness. They are inseparable.