Does the Mind Arise First or Do Dharmas Arise First? Does the Mind Cease First or Do Dharmas Cease First (Part One)

When the mind arises, the various dharmas arise; when the mind ceases, the various dharmas cease. Dharma includes material form (rūpa) and mental dharmas. Material form is composed of the four great seeds of earth, water, fire, and wind, and includes the sentient beings' physical bodies and sense faculty, as well as the material universe (the inanimate world). Material form has the sense-object marks of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma, and is the object-aspect (nimitta) that can be discerned by the conscious mind. Mental dharmas are the discerning functions of the seven consciousnesses, which are the perceiving-aspect (darśana-bhāga), generated by the flowing forth of consciousness seeds.

Let us first observe how the physical body is born and what the conditions for its birth are. In the teaching of the twelve links of dependent origination, the Buddha taught that ignorance conditions volitional formations (avidyā-pratyayāḥ saṃskārāḥ): because ignorance exists, the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of sentient beings are unceasing. Volitional formations condition consciousness: because bodily, verbal, and mental actions are continuously produced, the six consciousnesses are unceasing. Consciousness conditions name-and-form: because the six consciousnesses are continuous and unceasing, the manas must enter the womb and produce a fertilized egg. The fertilized egg is form (rūpa), and the manas is name (nāma); thus name and form combine into an initial life form. Name-and-form conditions the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana): after the fertilized egg grows and develops, the five faculties will be born; thus the six faculties are complete, which is the six sense bases. The six sense bases condition contact: the six faculties will come into contact with the six sense objects. Contact conditions feeling: after contact, the six consciousnesses are born, and the feelings of the six consciousnesses arise.

Feeling conditions craving: with the arising of feelings, the conscious mind gives rise to craving for the realms of the six sense objects. Craving conditions grasping: because of craving, the manas and the six consciousnesses want to seize and grasp the six sense objects. Grasping conditions existence: because the conscious mind grasps the six sense objects, the conditions for future existence are brought to completion, and existence in the three realms will be produced. Existence conditions birth: because the dharmas of the three realms are complete, the life form will be born in the three realms—thus name-and-form is born. Among these, name includes the seven consciousnesses and the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception, the aggregate of volitional formations, and the aggregate of consciousness; form is the aggregate of form. Thus the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) are born. This shows that when the manas's clinging is unceasing, the discrimination of the six consciousnesses is unceasing, and life forms are continuously born. From this point of view, as long as the deluded mind is continuously arising, material form is continuously arising.

There is another question: with only the deluded mind, can material form be born? It cannot be born, because the seven consciousnesses arise and cease intermittently, lack self-nature, and cannot store karmic seeds; therefore they cannot give birth to material form and the five aggregates. The pratyekabuddha teaching also includes the teaching of the ten links of dependent origination, which explains the ultimate source of material form. When pratyekabuddhas trace the twelve links of dependent origination in reverse, they contemplate: owing to the existence of what is a life form born? They then deduce that there are the dharmas of the three realms, and thus a life form will be born. They further contemplate: owing to the existence of what are there the dharmas of the three realms? They then deduce that because of grasping, existence in the three realms is produced. Grasping includes: desire-grasping, which is craving for sense realms; view-grasping, which is grasping the five aggregates as self; self-utterance grasping, which is the view of self and conceit of self; and grasping precepts and vows, which is clinging to precepts that are not in accord with reality and cannot lead to liberation.