The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination

The Law of Twelve Links of Dependent Origination: Ignorance gives rise to volitional formations, volitional formations give rise to consciousness, and so on. Here, "volitional formations" refer to bodily, verbal, and mental formations, and "consciousness" refers to the six consciousnesses. Therefore, ignorance must refer to the ignorance of the mental faculty (manas), because the ignorance of the mental faculty continuously prompts the arising and functioning of bodily, verbal, and mental formations. Consequently, the six consciousnesses are compelled to engage in creating bodily, verbal, and mental formations, preventing them from ceasing.

What does this ignorance include? It must include all ignorance: the six fundamental afflictions—greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, doubt, and wrong views—as well as the twenty subsidiary afflictions. Due to these afflictions of ignorance, the mental faculty continuously prompts the arising and manifestation of bodily, verbal, and mental formations, causing the six consciousnesses to ceaselessly create. Thus, the six consciousnesses cannot be purified, cannot attain the unconditioned, and cannot cease.

The phrase "the sixth consciousness is called the support of defilement and purity" also conveys this meaning. All dharmas arise and function entirely because of the mental faculty; there are no exceptions or special circumstances. The mental faculty is the driving force and fundamental cause for the production of all dharmas in the three realms. Once the ignorance of the mental faculty is completely extinguished and there is no remaining vow-power, the five aggregates and the worldly existence instantly cease.

When the mental faculty is free from the afflictions of ignorance, the six consciousnesses have no reason to create karmic formations stemming from ignorance, because they lack autonomy and the ability to act independently.

All dharmas are interconnected; no single dharma exists independently or in opposition to others. It is only a matter of whether an individual practitioner has thoroughly comprehended these dharmas during their cultivation. When not comprehended, this dharma is merely this dharma, and that dharma is merely that dharma; they interfere with each other. When comprehension is achieved, all dharmas become perfectly harmonious, mutually complementary and supportive, intimately interconnected. When the Buddha Dharma is thoroughly comprehended, from any single aspect, one can verify this dharma and also verify that dharma, discovering more facts and truths, with wisdom becoming perfectly integrated and unobstructed.