Why are the five consciousnesses born before the mind consciousness?

The objects perceived by the five consciousnesses are real realms (bhūta-pratiṣṭhā), formed by the combination of the real seeds of the five great elements, and are therefore real realms. What the mind consciousness perceives is the realm with essence (tadālamba-pratiṣṭhā), which manifests by relying on the real realm, functioning as a supplementary elaboration of the real realm; therefore it is an unreal and false realm. Without the real realm there would be no realm with essence—the real realm comes first, and the realm with essence comes afterward. Thus the five consciousnesses arise first to perceive the real realm, and the manifesting-object designation appears first before the eyes; the mind consciousness arises afterward to perceive the realm with essence, with forms and visible characteristics appearing later, and the non-indicative form perceived by the solitary consciousness appears last. If the five consciousnesses have not yet perceived the real realm, upon what could the mind consciousness rely to perceive the realm with essence? Whose essence does the realm with essence carry? If there is no essence, it cannot be a realm with essence. Therefore, the five consciousnesses must first arise to perceive the real realm before the mind consciousness can arise to perceive the realm with essence. After the two together have perceived the objects of the six sense objects, the solitary consciousness arises to perform thought, analysis, definition, evaluation, summarization, and so forth upon the realm with essence, processing the information. It then uploads this to the manas, allowing the manas to make decisions.

If the manas merely wishes to simply perceive the realm, without any other thoughts, and the mind is relatively pure, then the five consciousnesses and the consciousness accompanied by the five senses together perceive the realm, and it suffices for them to know what the realm is and upload it to the manas; the solitary consciousness has no need to appear, and there is no need for various thought, analysis, and all kinds of speculation. The six consciousnesses simply perceive and simply know, without further thoughts and mental activities. In cultivating meditative concentration, the first step is to remove the mental activities of the solitary consciousness, not letting the solitary consciousness appear, knowing the realm with indifference; finally, gradually not knowing, not discriminating, not perceiving, the mind becomes tranquil. Some people, in cultivating meditative concentration, close off the five consciousnesses and the consciousness accompanied by the five senses, while the solitary consciousness drifts through five thousand years of past and present, refusing to cease, so the mind cannot settle; in the end, the six consciousnesses must contact and perceive the realm, and concentration cannot be achieved. Therefore, the solitary consciousness is harder to subdue than the consciousness accompanied by the five senses and the five consciousnesses.