Before the arising of a thought in consciousness, there must first be a mental movement of the mind-base.

He Qianxing: When one discerns a thought, one can see the motive behind it. The motive arises first, then the thought emerges; that is, the mind stirs first, and then the thought appears. At the beginning of discernment, a thought arises for a long time before one becomes aware of it. After continuously practicing the skill of discernment, one gradually reaches the point where awareness arises immediately upon the arising of a thought. However, when one is already aware before a thought arises, one can see that first there is a stirring of the mind, and then the thought emerges.

Commentary: Your ability to discern in this way indicates that your mind is very calm and meticulous, and your meditative concentration is quite good. First, there is the stirring of the mind, with motive and purpose—this belongs to the mind faculty—and then the thought arises, which belongs to consciousness. The superficial thoughts that are easily observed belong to consciousness, while the deeply hidden thoughts that are difficult to observe belong to the mind faculty. At this stage, meditative concentration is basically sufficient and adequate, and wisdom is also sufficient and adequate for the purpose of eradicating the view of self. Of course, it must be complemented by merit and virtue, and one must also cultivate blessings, not solely focus on meditative concentration and contemplative practice.

He Qianxing: When a thought arises, and one discerns the cause and motive of its arising, one can vaguely see the shadow of self-attachment. Motives also have a priority order. The highest priority is my safety, ensuring the physical body is unharmed. Next is my greed, giving rise to craving and attachment; when greed is not satisfied, aversion arises. There is also the more subtle conceit, the desire to show off, to seek approval, to maintain dignity, and so on. This may still be a coarse stage. Another motive for liking to express oneself is: I feel bored and want excitement; or I worry about the future, so I plan ahead; or I regret the past, so I constantly review it, and so on. These are all motives that precede thoughts.

Commentary: The causes and motives for the arising of thoughts all belong to the mind faculty. The mind faculty first has purpose, then has intention, and subsequently thoughts arise. The mind faculty possesses the view of self and self-attachment, so it constantly considers itself and also wants to display itself at all times. Thus, purpose arises, followed by thoughts, and then actions of body, speech, and mind appear. Therefore, behind every person's actions of body, speech, and mind, there must be the purpose of the mind faculty, the intentions of the mind faculty, and the thoughts of the mind faculty.

He Qianxing: These observations are certainly vague, but it is very certain that they are the result of countless observations, as well as the summation of experience and the inference of consciousness. It is difficult to articulate clearly. However, one thing is certain: when one has seen countless times what the motive is before one's thoughts, the power of this motive to initiate action is clearly and continuously weakening. That is, one gradually loses interest in external circumstances, naturally becoming free from greed and aversion. Yet one can see that habitual tendencies still remain, and self-attachment is still in operation; perhaps greed, aversion, and ignorance have become thinner. In this state, even being asked to become the world's richest person holds no interest at all, and becoming the Jade Emperor feels utterly boring—are these not just enhanced versions of the five desires?

Commentary: When consciousness increasingly observes the motives of the mind faculty, both become alert. The mind faculty gradually reduces and weakens its motives and purposes, becoming purer, more pristine, without intention and without功利性. Afflictions diminish, the nature of the mind transforms and becomes pure, moral character is cultivated, and virtue is established. How joyful and commendable this is! People in the world increasingly neglect moral character and cultivation, becoming more功利, rushing toward wealth and fame—these vain things—and becoming more self-centered. As a result, they increasingly gravitate toward the three lower realms, and the world becomes increasingly chaotic.