The Mental Factors Associated with the Eight Consciousnesses

Mental factors (caittas) are the dharmas possessed by the conscious mind; they are the traces of mental activity in the process of the conscious mind's operation, assisting the operation of the eight consciousnesses. The mental factors of the eight consciousnesses were summarized by Bodhisattva Vasubandhu into at most fifty-one, but there are still more subtle mental factors that have not been summarized, such as emotional mental factors like shock, fear, joy, and happiness. These mental factors do not belong to wholesome or unwholesome, and in essence do not affect cultivation and realization. Each consciousness has its own mental factors, which are not all the same; each sentient being also has different mental factors at different stages of cultivation, determined by the mind and changing with the mind. Therefore, it is difficult to say exactly how many mental factors each consciousness has in a fixed sense, and it is also difficult to say exactly which mental factors each sentient being has; all of these must be analyzed and treated according to specific circumstances, and cannot be generalized.

Generally speaking, the eight consciousnesses have the following mental factors:

Five universal mental factors: contact (sparśa), mental engagement (manaskāra), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā);

Five object-specific mental factors: desire (chanda), determination (adhimokṣa), mindfulness (smṛti), meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā);

Eleven wholesome mental factors: faith (śraddhā), shame (hrī), remorse (apatrāpya), non-greed (alobha), non-hatred (adveṣa), non-delusion (amoha), diligence (vīrya), tranquility (praśrabdhi), non-negligence (apramāda), equanimity of action (upekṣā), and non-harm (ahiṃsā);

Six root afflictions: greed (rāga), hatred (dveṣa), delusion (moha), arrogance (māna), doubt (vicikitsā), and wrong view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi);

Eight universal afflictions: non-faith (āśraddhya), laziness (kausīdya), negligence (pramāda), torpor (styāna), restlessness (auddhatya), forgetfulness (muṣita-smṛtitā), non-discernment (asaṃprajanya), and distraction (vikṣepa); indeterminate mental factors: regret (kaukṛtya), sleep (middha), initial application (vitarka), and sustained examination (vicāra);

Two intermediate afflictions: shamelessness (ahrikā) and lack of remorse (anapatrāpya);

Ten minor afflictions: anger (krodha), resentment (upanāha), hostility (pradāsa), concealment (mrakṣa), deceit (māyā), flattery (śāṭhya), haughtiness (mada), harm (vihiṃsā), jealousy (īrṣyā), and stinginess (mātsarya).

Among these, the eleven wholesome mental factors stand in opposition to the afflictive mental factors: where one is present, the other is absent; where the latter is present, the former is absent. When a conscious mind has wholesome mental factors, it has no corresponding afflictive mental factors; when it has afflictive mental factors, it has no corresponding eleven wholesome mental factors. A single conscious mind cannot simultaneously possess both wholesome and unwholesome mental factors—it is either wholesome, or unwholesome, or neither wholesome nor unwholesome; they cannot appear simultaneously.

For example, when facing a sense object or a dharma, if the conscious mind has the mental factor of faith, it cannot have the mental factor of non-faith, nor can it be half-believing and half-doubting; conversely, the same applies—they cannot coexist. If it has the mental factors of shame and remorse, it cannot have the mental factors of shamelessness and lack of remorse; if it has the mental factor of non-greed, it cannot have the mental factor of greed; if it has the mental factor of non-hatred, it cannot have the mental factor of hatred; if it has the mental factor of non-delusion, it cannot have the mental factor of delusion; if it has the mental factor of diligence, it cannot have the mental factor of laziness; if it has the mental factor of tranquility, it cannot have the mental factor of torpor; if it has the mental factor of non-negligence, it cannot have the mental factor of negligence; if it has the mental factor of equanimity of action, it cannot have the mental factors of anger, resentment, or hostility; if it has the mental factor of non-harm, it cannot have the mental factor of harm. Of two opposing factors, only one can exist; they cannot coexist.

Then, does the eighth consciousness have the twenty-six afflictive mental factors? Certainly not. The eighth consciousness has no ignorance and no afflictions whatsoever; moreover, it has wholesome mental factors as well as mental factors that are neither wholesome nor unwholesome; if it did not have wholesome mental factors, it would have unwholesome mental factors. The wholesome mental factors of the eighth consciousness are: faith, non-greed, non-hatred, non-delusion, diligence, tranquility, non-negligence, equanimity of action, and non-harm. It has no mental factors of shame and remorse, because the eighth consciousness never creates mental activities that wrong itself or others, and therefore there is no need for shame and remorse or the lack thereof. The three mental factors of non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion are easy to understand: the eighth consciousness has no ignorance, and naturally has no afflictions of greed, hatred, or delusion; its mind is liberated from all afflictions.

The eighth consciousness has the mental factor of non-negligence; He never indulges Himself in pursuing ease and pleasure, because He has no mind toward all dharmas, never feels fatigued, does not crave sense objects, does not like sense objects, and does not become weary of sense objects. Therefore, He neither indulges Himself nor seeks comfort; thus He has the mental factor of non-negligence.

The eighth consciousness has the mental factor of equanimity of action. Equanimity of action means that the mind's activity is in a state of equanimity, impartial and unbiased, equal toward all dharmas, not pursuing or recalling the past, not grasping at the future, with a peaceful state of mind, neither sluggish nor hasty, abiding in the Middle Way, with a neutral mind-nature. The eighth consciousness is precisely such a mind.

The eighth consciousness has the mental factor of non-harm; toward all people, affairs, things, and principles, He has no mind of violation or opposition. If people, affairs, things, or principles have aspects that are not in accord with the Dharma, the eighth consciousness never pursues or investigates them, and absolutely does not care about anything; therefore He does not give rise to mental activities of violation or harm, and simply goes on manifesting all phenomena of good and evil. The eighth consciousness never has the mind to discriminate or treat things differently, never gives rise to thoughts, and neither good nor evil can affect the mind of the eighth consciousness.