The Mental Factors Implicit in Deliberation

The term "deliberation" (tuīqiāo) originates from an anecdote about the Tang Dynasty poet Jia Dao's process of composing poetry, describing his mode of thought and state of diligent effort when selecting words and phrases. To find the appropriate words, the poet continuously searched for terms in his mind to convey the artistic conception intended by the poem, while simultaneously accompanying this with physical gestures of pushing and knocking. Initially, deliberation and seeking arise from consciousness, gradually transitioning to the deliberation and seeking of the mind-base (manas). The deliberation and seeking of the mind-base are extremely subtle and concealed, to the point where consciousness appears motionless and devoid of thought, akin to a state of meditative inquiry (chan).

When Jia Dao was refining and deliberating over words and phrases, what mental factors (caittas) arose? The five universal mental factors (sarvatraga caittas) and the five object-determining mental factors (viṣaya-pratiniryāta caittas) were present, and perhaps also wholesome mental factors (kuśala caittas) and unwholesome mental factors (kleśa caittas). In the process of deliberation, one must first generate the mental factor of attention (manaskāra) toward the object of deliberation, directing the mind to the object to be deliberated upon; the mental factor of contact (sparśa) arises, as the mind touches the object of deliberation; the mental factor of feeling (vedanā) arises, as one receives and experiences the object of deliberation; the mental factor of perception (saṃjñā) arises, as one recognizes and grasps the object of deliberation; and the mental factor of volition (cetanā) arises, as one continuously reflects on this object until it is fully understood and determined, followed by subsequent actions. When physically gesturing the actions of pushing and knocking, the five consciousnesses and the five universal mental factors accompanying the mind-door consciousness (pañca-dvārika-citta) also arise.

During the stage of attention, the mind is relatively concentrated, with consciousness and the mind-base focused on the corresponding object. The arising of the mental factor of feeling may be less frequent than at other times, as the mind ponders the issue at hand. In the process of deliberation, if it touches upon particularly sensitive images of the mind-base, the mental factor of feeling may arise; this feeling is a mental stirring and sensation, rather than a sensation caused by changes in external sense objects (six dusts). The mental factor of feeling initially means receiving, accepting, and experiencing; for if one does not accept and take in the issue, one cannot continue to contemplate it, and thus cannot engage in volition, cannot arrive at the final result of volition, cannot make choices or engage in subsequent actions, and still less can wisdom arise.

Throughout the processes of thinking and volition, the mental factor of concentration (samādhi) is always present. Additionally, the mental factor of resolution (adhimokṣa) is present; resolution means correctly understanding the general meaning of the object, that is, grasping its outline, and being able to derive a relatively reasonable answer, view, concept, or conclusion regarding the object of contemplation. In the process of deliberation, the mental factors of desire (chanda), mindfulness (smṛti), and concentration (samādhi) also arise. The mental factor of desire is the wish to deliberate, driving the sixth and seventh consciousnesses to engage in deliberation, to select words and construct sentences. After resolution, a mental factor of mindfulness regarding the meaning of the words is formed, and focusing on the deliberation itself is the function of the mental factor of concentration.