Why Do Infants Have Poor Memory? (Part 2)

Infants possess a weak mind-consciousness, poor perception, and limited cognitive ability. Due to their minimal power of adhimokṣa (resolute conviction), their power of recollection is extremely poor, resulting in very little memory retention. However, some exceptions exist; for instance, infants possess innate habits. They exhibit heightened sensitivity to tangible objects (spraṣṭavya) but have low tolerance. Unable to express themselves verbally, they resort to crying and fussing when dissatisfied to communicate their discomfort. Food and warmth, pertaining to tangible objects, are highly sensitive matters for infants. Furthermore, since nourishment is essential for the life activities of sentient beings, infants possess innate adhimokṣa regarding food, warmth, and tangible objects, along with memory. This is not acquired through deliberate cognition but is instinctual. Because nourishment and tangible bodily sensations are constantly present and frequently experienced by infants, their focus becomes fixed on these aspects. Consequently, infants develop adhimokṣa, recollection, and memory concerning these matters. Beyond this, infants' memory is generally very poor.

Memory is one of the functional attributes of the mind-consciousness. During the fetal stage, once consciousness arises, the function of memory emerges, which is why prenatal education is possible. Prenatal education involves enabling the fetus, upon hearing sounds inside and outside the womb, to develop a certain level of understanding, receive positive influence, and thereby gain education. A fetus develops consciousness around four to five months of gestation, at which point it gains perceptual ability, leading to the phenomenon of fetal movement. The presence of mind-consciousness is necessary for fetal movement; without consciousness, the body cannot move. It is because mind-consciousness exists that prenatal education can be effective; otherwise, it would be largely useless.

Without mind-consciousness, there is no adhimokṣa or memory, and the fetus cannot be educated. Fetal movement is a phenomenon resulting from the joint activity of mind-consciousness and body-consciousness; otherwise, movement cannot occur. Mind-consciousness and body-consciousness can discern the environment within the womb. Following this discernment, sensations arise, leading to corresponding bodily reactions, which manifest as fetal movement. When the fetus discerns sounds, it inevitably experiences internal sensations, and these internal emotions are expressed through the body, either transitioning from stillness to movement or from movement to stillness.
The aforementioned adhimokṣa, concentration (samādhi), recollection (smṛti), and memory are all functional attributes of the mind-consciousness, constituting the five specific mental factors (viniyata-caitasika) associated with mind-consciousness, along with the mental factors of desire (chanda) and wisdom (prajñā). The five sense consciousnesses, which arise together with mind-consciousness and perform the function of discernment, also possess these five specific mental factors. As long as infants possess the six consciousnesses, they inherently possess these five specific mental factors, though their manifestation is relatively weak. As survival experiences accumulate after birth, the function of these specific mental factors strengthens, and memory capacity consequently increases.