How Do Karmic Formations Arise?

The process by which the five universal mental factors operate is precisely the process of creating karmic actions. If wholesome mental factors join in, what is created is wholesome karma; if unwholesome mental factors join in, what is created is unwholesome karma. The mental factors of mental engagement (manaskāra) and contact (sparśa) are themselves neither wholesome nor unwholesome; if wholesome or unwholesome minds are added, then that mental engagement and contact become well-intentioned or ill-intentioned. The mental factors of feeling, perception, and volition are likewise neither wholesome nor unwholesome in themselves; if wholesome or unwholesome mental factors join in, then those feeling, perception, and volition mental factors come to contain wholesomeness or unwholesomeness. If, during the operation of the five universal mental factors, the mental factor of wisdom (prajñā) participates, the karmic action is one of wisdom; otherwise, it is a karmic action of foolish delusion. If the mental factor of determination (adhimokṣa) participates, the person is intelligent, good at understanding others' intentions, and has strong comprehension. When the mental factor of meditative concentration (samādhi) arises, feeling and perception are both slight, and the operation of the five universal mental factors is slow and subtle; mental engagement and contact arise passively, while the mental factors of feeling, perception, and volition manifest and operate in accordance with conditions, functioning spontaneously.

In the operation of all dharmas, the manas plays a driving role and is the master of karmic actions; this can be observed from one's usual bodily, verbal, and mental actions. For example, raising the hand, then picking up a pen, and then pressing the hand onto the paper. If one observes this process carefully, one can clearly feel a kind of mental force driving it—sometimes the driving is obvious, sometimes it is not obvious, and sometimes it is very casual, as if there were no driving at all, when in fact it is done by inertia. However, no matter how casual and effortless the manas's operation is, when the mind consciousness lacks wisdom, it is still very difficult to observe.

Take another example: when we ride a bicycle very skillfully, it seems we are not riding with deliberate attention—the mind consciousness does not need to think about or consider how to ride—yet the manas is directing and operating moment by moment, all applying its mind; it is just that the mind consciousness does not know it. When riding skillfully, even if you want to fall, it is not easy to fall; when you cannot ride, even if you do not want to fall, you still fall. Because when one is skilled, the mind consciousness does not need to think and control—the manas has already mastered it and can direct and control it with ease; when unskilled, the manas has not yet learned it, so the mind consciousness must repeatedly deliberate and permeate the manas until the manas has fully mastered it and can control it freely, after which the mind consciousness no longer needs to apply any thought.

Some people always say they did something unintentionally, but no matter how unintentional your mind consciousness is, the manas is intentional—it is the manas that drives the doing of something, and only then does that thing come to fruition; you simply do not know it. In familiar operations, unconscious and subconscious movements are all directed, commanded, and controlled by the manas, not by the mind consciousness; the mind consciousness merely cooperates with the manas simply, without any thoughts, opinions, or views. Moreover, the mind consciousness being unintentional does not mean the manas is unintentional; only when the manas is unintentional is the mind truly in nonaction.