Manifestations of Heedlessness in the First Seven Consciousnesses

Modern people are too attached to worldly things, so they always feel that everything in the world is good and lovable. Such people will never be weary of the world in their hearts, and it is very hard for them to develop the mind of renunciation. They cannot see the suffering side of the world, its dark side; they only see the world's false side of pleasures—all because their craving attachment to the worldly is very heavy. Whether a person's mind is inclined toward the worldly or away from it is clearly expressed in their speech, yet they themselves do not know it; they lack the power of introspection, and their minds are unawakened.

Because of craving attachment to the worldly, the six faculties and six consciousnesses all become dissolute. The dissoluteness of the eye consciousness is looking at forms at will; the dissoluteness of the ear consciousness is hearing sounds at will; the dissoluteness of the nose consciousness is delighting in fragrances and loathing odors; the dissoluteness of the tongue consciousness is craving delicious tastes; the dissoluteness of the body consciousness is seeking comfort and ease; the dissoluteness of the mind consciousness is distraction, torpor, and restlessness; the dissoluteness of the manas is grasping and clinging everywhere. The six faculties of the arhats are never dissolute: they absolutely do not go about looking, listening, smelling, tasting, and touching, nor does their mind consciousness engage in scattered and random thinking.

Some people always love food and delicacies—that is the joint dissoluteness of the tongue consciousness and the mind consciousness. Some people always love smelling fragrances—that is the joint dissoluteness of the nose consciousness and the mind consciousness. Some people always love wearing fine clothes and sleeping in fine beds, wanting everything to be comfortable and pleasant—that is the joint dissoluteness of the body consciousness and the mind consciousness. Some people always love reminiscing about the past and reaching toward the future—that is the dissoluteness of the mind consciousness. Some people always love grasping at everything—that is the dissoluteness of the manas.

Let us learn from our eighth consciousness: He has no preferences at all, His mind is always in meditative concentration; there is no time of greed, no time of hatred, no time of delusion; He has no self-view, and He does not preside as master. He passes His days according to conditions, yet there is no day to be passed. If the seven consciousnesses were like this, they would more than suffice for attaining buddhahood.