What Is Meant by Uninterrupted Mental Application?

Interval refers to a gap or interruption, while uninterrupted means continuous, without any gap or break. Attention is the act of directing awareness towards a dharma, where the mind inclines towards and focuses on that dharma. Attention is one of the five universal mental factors of the conscious mind; all eight consciousnesses possess attention and can incline towards and focus on a particular dharma.

Is the attention of the eighth consciousness uninterrupted or interrupted? We know that all dharmas are born from and sustained by the eighth consciousness. Once the eighth consciousness ceases to attend to a certain dharma, it no longer operates upon that dharma, ceases to produce seeds related to it, and thus that dharma must inevitably vanish and perish. Therefore, as long as a certain dharma exists, the attention of the eighth consciousness must operate continuously and uninterruptedly. However, the existence of all dharmas arises, firstly, from the eighth consciousness spontaneously generating them based on matured karmic seeds, and secondly, from the attention and grasping of manas. Consequently, sometimes the attention of the eighth consciousness is triggered by the attention of manas. Once manas ceases to attend, the eighth consciousness also ceases to produce and sustain certain dharmas, causing those dharmas to inevitably disappear. Thus, for certain dharmas to exist, the mental factor of attention within manas must also be operating. As long as a certain dharma continues to exist without interruption, the mental factor of attention within manas must be operating continuously and uninterruptedly; otherwise, those dharmas would inevitably vanish.

Therefore, it is said that the attention of the eighth consciousness can be uninterrupted, and the attention of manas can be uninterrupted. Is the attention of the consciousness (manovijñāna) uninterrupted? We know that the consciousness is interrupted many times throughout the day, invariably ceasing involuntarily. Even if the consciousness has uninterrupted attention, it only lasts for a period of time; it cannot remain uninterrupted for twenty-four hours a day. When the consciousness maintains uninterrupted attention for a period, it is entirely due to the uninterrupted attention of manas. Once manas ceases to attend, the eighth consciousness ceases to output the seeds for the consciousness, and the consciousness must inevitably vanish in relation to that dharma.

Thus, only when manas maintains uninterrupted attention can the consciousness have uninterrupted attention for a period of time. In reality, most of the time, after attending for a while, the consciousness becomes fatigued, becomes scattered, and ceases; it cannot attend for very long. The attention of the five sense consciousnesses is even more so like this. Without the attention of manas and without the attention of the eighth consciousness, the six consciousnesses (the five sense consciousnesses plus the mental consciousness) could not even have attention for a single instant. All six consciousnesses depend on the eighth consciousness and manas to manifest and operate; they cannot function independently, for they lack autonomy.

Once manas forms uninterrupted attention towards a certain dharma, it means it has been successfully influenced by the consciousness. It will then automatically and consciously direct the six consciousnesses to act according to the principles it has realized and understood. The mental formations will inevitably change, and bodily, verbal, and mental actions will also inevitably change, without needing the consciousness to constantly supervise or remind. Only when manas has not been successfully influenced is it necessary for the consciousness to constantly supervise, remind, and regulate it without ceasing. This is because manas lacks self-awareness and has not been influenced or realized the dharma.