The Relationship Between Mental Factors (caittas) and the Mind-King (citta) (Part One)

The mind king (citta) is the master, while the mental factors (caittas) are its attendants, the functioning of the master. At every instant, the mind king operates in the form of mental factors and cannot be separated from them; conversely, if the mental factors are separated from the mind king, they cannot exist or operate either. When the mind king appears, it operates in the form of mental factors; without the operation of mental factors, there is certainly no mind king. Among these, the five universal mental factors cannot be separated from the eight consciousnesses even for an instant, whereas the other mental factors only accompany the mind king on particular occasions. The mental factors are like the staff of the mind king: the mind king is like an emperor, and the mental factors are like the yellow robe and the imperial crown.

The operation of the conscious mind is precisely the operation of the mental factors; without mental factors, consciousness cannot be seen, and seeing the operation of the mental factors is equivalent to seeing consciousness. Among them, the mental factors of manaskāra (attention), sparśa (contact), vedanā (feeling), saṃjñā (perception), and cetanā (volition) are the discriminating functions that the eight consciousnesses generate toward their objects. The mental factors are the tools of the eight consciousnesses; the mind king has never been able to part from its tools, just as a person walking must necessarily use their legs and feet—without legs and feet, one cannot walk. The eight consciousnesses are analogous to the body, and the mental factors are like two legs: for the body to walk, it must use its legs; for the eight consciousnesses to operate and act, they must employ the mental factors.

To make it easier to understand the relationship between the mind king and the mental factors, we may liken the eight consciousnesses to the physical body, and the mental factors to the eyes, ears, and nose: for the physical body to be active, it must rely on the eyes, ears, nose, and so on; for the tathāgatagarbha to operate, it must rely on the mental factors. Alternatively, we may compare the mind king to a robot and the mental factors to the robot's limbs: for the robot to function, it relies on its limbs, and when the limbs move, it shows that the robot has appeared and is at work.

Among these, the five universal mental factors are the most intimately and inseparably connected with the tathāgatagarbha—they cannot be parted from it even for a second or an instant. The five particular mental factors come next: they manifest one by one, not appearing at all times. The eleven wholesome mental factors are sometimes present and sometimes absent; the afflictive mental factors likewise come and go, and in the end they must all cease. Thus, for the mind king to operate, it uses the five universal mental factors at every instant; at certain times it also uses the five particular mental factors and the eleven wholesome mental factors. The afflictive mental factors are not necessarily present with every mind king: the tathāgatagarbha naturally does not possess afflictive mental factors, while the afflictive mental factors of the seven consciousnesses, through cultivation, must ultimately be extinguished completely.