Why Must the Five Consciousnesses Discern the Five Objects Through the Determination of Manas?

Question: When I feel an itch on my body, I can't help but want to scratch it. Immediately, I realize that this is all the body consciousness encountering the touch dust—where is the itch? I should not create any deliberate action. Thus, I do not direct mental attention to that spot, and the itch immediately disappears. If I continue to direct attention there, the itch remains; if I again refrain from directing attention, the itch disappears once more. After going back and forth twice, with a slightly longer interval in between, and then ceasing to direct attention altogether, the itch completely vanishes. Has the itch truly disappeared?

Answer: When the sense faculty and sense object come into contact, consciousness arises. Once consciousness arises, it cognizes the sense object. After cognizing, sensations are produced, such as feeling cold, heat, touch, pain, itch, etc. Following this, emotions of suffering, pleasure, sorrow, joy, or equanimity arise. This is the sequential operation of the six entrances, contact, and sensation within the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. Whether the sense faculty and sense object come into contact is determined by the mental faculty (manas). For instance, when the body itches, if the mental faculty does not direct attention to the itchy spot but shifts focus elsewhere, then the mental consciousness and body consciousness cannot manifest at that location. The touch dust of itch is not cognized, the sensation does not arise, and thus one does not know the itch and does not feel it. This is the mental faculty shifting attention, causing the six consciousnesses not to arise at that spot, so it is not cognized. This does not mean there was no itch. If the mental faculty does not shift attention, the body faculty interacts with the touch dust of itch, causing the body consciousness and mental consciousness to arise and cognize the touch dust of itch, resulting in the perception of itch. Subsequently, the mental faculty chooses to scratch the itch, and so the body consciousness and mental consciousness carry out the scratching.

This demonstrates that the mental faculty is the sovereign consciousness. It dominates the contact between sense faculties and sense objects, governs the arising, ceasing, coming, and going of the six consciousnesses, controls the cognition of the six consciousnesses, and directs the actions of body, speech, and mind. This also shows that whether the five sense faculties (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body) come into contact with the five sense objects (form, sound, smell, taste, touch) is entirely decided by the mental faculty. The cognition by the five consciousnesses is also determined by the mental faculty. This raises a question: Why does the mental faculty dominate the arising and cognition of the five consciousnesses? Why does the mental faculty decide how the five consciousnesses cognize the five sense objects? Since the mental faculty can make such choices, it must first have cognized the five sense objects itself before it can accept or reject them, make judgments, and decide. This indicates that the mental faculty can cognize the six sense objects, not merely the dharma dust alone. Otherwise, how could the five sense faculties contact the five sense objects? How could the five consciousnesses arise?