Only the solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) can give rise to thoughts

Question: The knowing and discerning function of the perceiving-aspect of the first five consciousnesses and the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses (pañcavijñāna-sahagata-manovijñāna) is not thought, whereas the discriminating and thinking function of the perceiving-aspect of the solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) is thought—is that correct?

Answer: Thought refers to mental activities such as thinking, ideas, plans, musing, and deliberation. These are functions possessed by the seventh consciousness (manas) and the solitary consciousness, not functions possessed by the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses. The mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses, together with the five sense consciousnesses, contacts and discerns the five sense objects. On this basis, the solitary consciousness carries out activities such as thinking, analyzing, judging, and choosing regarding the mental sense-objects (dharmas) discerned by the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses. The mental activity of thinking and analyzing is not on the five sense objects; it is an Image-Only Object detached from the five sense objects. Therefore, only the solitary consciousness can have thoughts, while the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses has no thoughts, because it cannot depart from the five sense objects and the five sense consciousnesses, and cannot operate independently.

The solitary consciousness performs the discerning functions of inference and mistaken perception/non-valid cognition; the objects it engages with are Image-Only Objects, detached from the objects present before one, and are not dharmas existing presently before the eyes. The mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses, however, discerns by direct perception/valid direct cognition; what it discerns is always dharmas existing presently before one. If a dharma does not exist presently before the eyes, the first five consciousnesses and the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses do not appear. When the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses is discerning dharmas existing presently before one, the solitary consciousness, on this basis, engages in inferential thinking about other dharmas not present before the eyes, or engages in mistaken perception/non-valid cognition such as recollection and fanciful imagination, indulging in wild fantasies. When the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses is not present, the dharmas the solitary consciousness contemplates are even more unrelated to the dharmas presently before one; and even when the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses is discerning presently existing dharmas, the solitary consciousness can still, just the same, depart from the current object and indulge in wild fantasies. Combining the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses and the solitary consciousness together, we say that the mind consciousness has three kinds of discernment: direct perception/valid direct cognition, inference, and mistaken perception/non-valid cognition.