Do the Five Sense Consciousnesses Have the Five Object-Determining Mental Factors?

The first five consciousnesses possess the mental factor of meditative concentration (samādhi). If the five consciousnesses had no concentration, the eye consciousness would grasp at multiple objects, the ear consciousness at multiple objects, the nose consciousness at multiple objects, the tongue consciousness at multiple objects, and the body consciousness at multiple objects, and the mind consciousness would inevitably follow along and grasp at multiple objects as well—would not the mind then be thrown into great confusion? If the five consciousnesses had no concentration, the mind consciousness could not be concentrated either; the mind consciousness would necessarily discriminate everywhere along with the five consciousnesses, and in this way the mind would easily become tangled in confusion.

We can presently observe that the five consciousnesses can each become concentrated on one or two objects without scattering, discriminating in a subtle manner, which shows that the five consciousnesses can have concentration and can be in accord with concentration. If the six consciousnesses had no concentration, it would mean that the manas is unconcentrated, because the grasping at objects by the five consciousnesses and the sixth consciousness is the result of being led and drawn out by the manas; if the manas does not wish to perceive objects, the six consciousnesses cannot perceive objects. Therefore, if the manas had no concentration and were not in accord with concentration, then cultivation could never attain meditative concentration (dhyāna), and the four dhyānas and eight samādhis could not be cultivated. People could only live in the human realm of the desire realm, and there would be no sentient beings existing in the heavens.

The five consciousnesses possess discriminating wisdom; they can generate judgment and confirmation regarding the five sense objects, and can clearly discriminate and judge the five sense objects. Therefore the five consciousnesses have the mental factor of wisdom (prajñā). When the wisdom of the five consciousnesses is strong, it is also brought forth by the concentration mental factor of the five consciousnesses—concentration giving rise to wisdom is precisely this principle. By the same token, the wisdom of the manas is mostly also brought forth by concentration, especially the wisdom that arises after afflictions are eradicated and the consciousnesses are transformed into wisdom—that is even more brought forth by the concentration mental factor of the manas. Since the five consciousnesses can confirm what the five sense objects actually are, this shows that the five consciousnesses have the mental factor of determination (adhimokṣa), being able to clearly understand and firmly ascertain the characteristics of the five sense-object dharmas.

The five consciousnesses' nature of approaching or avoiding the five sense objects shows that the five consciousnesses have the mental factor of desire (chanda). For example, when the eye consciousness encounters soft, gentle colors, it actively approaches them; when it encounters intensely glaring sunlight, it naturally avoids it—this is the desire mental factor of the eye consciousness. The ear consciousness strives to avoid harsh, grating sounds, while toward soft, gentle music the mind yearns for it. The nose consciousness has an avoiding mind toward pungent, acrid odors, but toward warm, pleasant fragrances it approaches the object and gives rise to craving and attachment. The tongue consciousness actively seeks out and approaches delicious flavors, while striving to avoid irritating tastes. The body consciousness approaches gentle and wondrous tactile sensations and gives rise to craving and attachment, while urgently avoiding tactile sensations that are contrary and intensely painful. The above shows that the five consciousnesses have a weak desire mental factor, far weaker than the desire mental factor of the mind consciousness; its manifestation is not obvious and is not easy to observe.

The five consciousnesses, toward objects previously experienced, also certainly have the nature of mindfulness (smṛti); because of this nature of mindfulness, they can have the desire mental factor, and can give rise to craving and attachment, not wishing to leave the object, clinging to the object and not letting go.

The five consciousnesses are endowed with the five object-specific mental factors, only they are weak; generally what manifests is the five object-specific factors of the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna), but upon subtle analysis, they can still be distinguished. On the whole, the manifestation and operation of the five consciousnesses are still controlled and determined by the manas, so the desire mental factor of the five consciousnesses appears even weaker and more vague, obscured by the manipulation of the manas, and very difficult to discover.