The Mental Factor of Volition (cetanā) of the Manas Determines the Discernment of the Eye Consciousness and the Mind Consciousness

When the eye consciousness sees form, it sees the manifesting forms (rūpa): blue, yellow, red, and white, light and darkness, clouds, mist, smoke, and haze, as well as space. Light is a kind of material, composed of the four great elements, arising and ceasing and changing moment by moment; it is false and unreal.

The eye consciousness itself possesses the mental factor of volition (cetanā). After receiving the form sense-object, it cognizes the form sense-object, and then the mental factor of volition arises, deciding on action—whether to avoid it or to look a while longer. The eye consciousness works in close cooperation simultaneously with the manas and the mind consciousness; without the manas's mental engagement (manaskāra) and the mental factor of volition, there would be no arising of the eye consciousness and the mind consciousness, nor any discernment by them, and there would be no operation of the five universal mental factors of the eye consciousness, nor the appearance of the five universal mental factors of the mind consciousness. When the eye consciousness sees form, the seventh consciousness cannot see form; when the mind consciousness analyzes, infers, and judges, the seventh consciousness cannot infer or analyze. Only because consciousness has the nature of discriminating, discerning, and recognizing is it called consciousness; otherwise it would not be called consciousness. All seven consciousnesses possess the nature of discernment, discrimination, and recognition.

The first five consciousnesses also have the five universal mental factors: mental engagement, contact, feeling, perception, and volition—only theirs are simpler and coarser than the five universal mental factors of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. The sixth and seventh consciousnesses deliberate on mental sense-objects (dharmāyatana), and their deliberation can be very refined and profound; the first five consciousnesses deliberate on the five sense-objects, and their deliberation is very coarse and simple. As long as one can separate the five sense-objects from the mental sense-objects and not confuse them, one can distinguish the difference between the volition of the five consciousnesses and the volition of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. The volition of the five consciousnesses is not the kind of deliberative function that the mind consciousness has; the two are different, and the difference is considerable. Being able to separate the five sense-objects from the mental sense-objects is extremely difficult, so distinguishing the discernment of the five consciousnesses from that of the mind consciousness is also very difficult. Distinguishing the functions of the manas from those of the mind consciousness is likewise beyond the capability of ordinary people.

What people ordinarily call deliberation generally refers to the sixth and seventh consciousnesses' deliberation on mental sense-objects, especially the solitary consciousness's (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) deliberation on the Image-Only Object, in which the five consciousnesses cannot fail to participate. The volition among the five universal mental factors of the five consciousnesses mainly serves the function of judgment and choice. After the five consciousnesses discern their corresponding five sense-objects, they take the marks of those objects, make a simple and coarse judgment, and then choose whether to continue discerning or to stop and avoid; the mind consciousness simultaneously participates in the discernment. The reason the discernment of the five consciousnesses is said to be coarse is that the five sense-objects are coarse and require no fine discrimination; therefore the discernment is rapid and does not require much mental effort from the five consciousnesses, as if it did not go through the brain at all. The mental sense-objects that accompany the five sense-objects, however, are relatively subtle and require the refined discernment of the mind consciousness; hence the mind consciousness's discernment and analytical thinking are both slower and more mentally taxing.

When the five sense-objects are significant and their impact is great, the manas makes its choices primarily according to the judgment and choice of the five consciousnesses, with no time to process the mind consciousness's analysis and judgment, and thus overlooks the mind consciousness's discernment and deliberation. Usually the discernment of the five consciousnesses is rather direct and rapid, while the discernment of the mind consciousness is subtle and slightly slower than that of the five consciousnesses. For major matters, the manas relies mainly on the reactions of the five consciousnesses and cannot attend to the reactions of the mind consciousness. Therefore, in some sudden emergencies, the mind consciousness's analysis and deliberation are not used, and the manas directs the completion of the matter, leaving the mind consciousness to realize it only afterward. To summarize: deliberation refers to the deliberation of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses; the volition of the first five consciousnesses is simpler, coarser, and more direct than deliberation—not deep enough, and not needing to be deep, because the five sense-objects and their dharmas are shallow, coarse, and direct.