The Five Object-Determining Mental Factors of the First Five Consciousnesses

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 necessarily 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 inevitably follow the five consciousnesses in discerning objects everywhere, and in this way the mind would easily become tangled in confusion.

Yet we can presently observe that the five consciousnesses can each become concentrated on one or two objects without scattering, discerning in a subtle manner; this shows that the five consciousnesses can have concentration and can be in accord with concentration. If the six consciousnesses had no concentration, it would show that the manas is unconcentrated, because the grasping at objects by the five and six consciousnesses is the result of being led by the manas's clinging; 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 absorptions could never be cultivated; sentient beings could only live in the human world of the desire realm, and there would be no sentient beings in the heavens.

The five consciousnesses possess the wisdom of discernment; they can generate discrimination and confirmation regarding the five sense objects, and can clearly discern and discriminate the five sense objects. Thus 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 for the most part also brought forth by concentration, especially the wisdom that arises after afflictions are eradicated and consciousness is 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 determine the characteristics of the five sense-object dharmas.

The fact that the five consciousnesses have the property of approaching or avoiding the states of 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. When the ear consciousness encounters grating sounds, it tries hard to avoid them, whereas when it encounters gentle, soft music, the mind yearns for it. When the nose consciousness encounters pungent odors, it has a mind to avoid them; when it encounters warm, pleasant fragrances, it approaches the object and gives rise to craving and attachment. When the tongue consciousness encounters delicious flavors, it actively seeks them out and approaches the object; when it encounters irritating tastes, it tries hard to avoid them. When the body consciousness encounters light and pleasant touch, it approaches the object and gives rise to craving and attachment; toward touch that is contrary and intensely painful, it urgently avoids it. The above shows that the five consciousnesses have a faint desire mental factor, far fainter than the desire mental factor of the mind consciousness; its manifestation is not obvious and is not easy to observe.

The five consciousnesses, with respect to objects previously experienced, also have a certain quality of mindfulness; because of this quality of mindfulness, they can have the desire mental factor and can give rise to craving and attachment, being unwilling to leave the object, clinging to the object and not letting go.

The five consciousnesses are endowed with the five object-specific mental factors; they are merely faint, and generally manifest as the five object-specific factors of the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna). But upon careful analysis, they can still be distinguished. On the whole, however, the arising and functioning of the five consciousnesses is still controlled and determined by the manas, so the desire mental factor of the five consciousnesses appears even fainter and more indistinct, obscured by the manipulation of the manas, and very difficult to detect.