The Source of the Mind Consciousness's Afflictions

The manas is the dominant condition (adhipati-pratyaya) for the arising of the mind consciousness, and it is also the basis upon which the mind consciousness's mental ground becomes defiled or purified. The mind consciousness comes into being only after the manas contacts the mental sense-objects and the manas makes choices and engages in activity. Where do the afflictions of the mind consciousness come from? One source is the regulation and perfuming by the manas; another source is the perfuming by the defiled environment surrounding it.

How does the manas regulate and perfume the mind consciousness? When the manas contacts the realms of the six sense-objects, it can roughly judge that the sense-objects are not to its liking. The manas first gives rise to afflictions in its own mind and wants to counteract the sense-objects; then the mind consciousness arises. Following the manas's instructions, the mind consciousness discerns the current mental sense-objects, and when it takes bodily and verbal action, it carries afflictions with it, so the bodily and verbal actions are defiled. This is the result of the mind consciousness being regulated by the manas. Perfuming means that each time the manas's afflictions appear, they perfume the mind consciousness; the mind consciousness is gradually perfumed and comes to have the same afflictions as the manas. For example, when a baby is first born, the mind consciousness has no afflictions; over time, the manas's innate afflictions come to dominate the mental activities of the mind consciousness, and the mind consciousness becomes increasingly consistent with the manas's afflictions—this is being perfumed by the manas. Only when the mind consciousness has some awakening can it reduce some afflictions and, in turn, control the afflictions of the manas.

The second source of the mind consciousness's afflictions is the perfuming of the sense-object realms. Constantly dwelling amid the various afflictions of similar people, through accumulated perfuming day after day, afflictions appear in the mind. The mind consciousness's afflictions then in turn perfume the manas, so that the manas also comes to possess the same afflictions. Once afflictions have been eliminated, the manas is not easily perfumed; even if afflictions occasionally arise, they are only the mind consciousness's temporary afflictions, which will be dispelled afterward and will not persist for long.