The Mental Factors of the First Five Consciousnesses

The mental factors associated with the first five consciousnesses begin with the five universal mental factors. As soon as the five consciousnesses arise, these five universal mental factors operate alongside them. The five consciousnesses also have the five particular mental factors. Among these, the mental factor of desire (chanda) involves the seeking, pursuit, and attachment to the five sense objects (form, sound, smell, taste, touch). Most of the time, this is mobilized and directed by manas (the defiled mind) and is also influenced by the mental factor of desire in the sixth consciousness (mano-vijñāna) to manifest. Occasionally, it manifests due to the attraction of the five sense objects themselves. For example, when the eye consciousness sees a soft light and wishes to perceive and discriminate it more, this is the mental factor of desire.

The reluctance to leave this light belongs to the mental factor of greed (rāga). Disliking and avoiding this light, even reluctantly, pertains to the mental factor of aversion (dveṣa). In truth, the five consciousnesses do not inherently possess the mental factor of aversion; it is regulated by manas. For instance, glaring at someone with the eyes is an act of aversion performed by the body consciousness, reflecting the aversion of manas towards the person, which may also include aversion from the sixth consciousness. If the mind recognizes the person as hateful and feels aversion, that is the aversion of the sixth consciousness. Aversion arising without reason, lacking a clear cause, being impervious to persuasion, or arising immediately upon encountering a situation without time for thought, is the aversion of manas.

The mental factor of conviction (adhimokṣa) in the five consciousnesses is the clarity regarding an object, not being confused, knowing exactly what is being discriminated, without illusion. The mental factor of mindfulness (smṛti) is the memory retained by the five consciousnesses after discriminating an object. If the mind can recall the object and wish to dwell on it, this is mostly caused by the mindfulness of manas or arises from the desire of manas, being primarily directed by manas. Sometimes it is influenced by the sixth consciousness. The mindfulness of the five consciousnesses themselves is not clear and distinct; it lacks a pronounced mindful nature. The mental factor of concentration (samādhi) in the five consciousnesses is a relatively focused discrimination of an object. This focused discrimination is mainly directed and facilitated by manas, sometimes influenced by the sixth consciousness. The five consciousnesses themselves have no active intention or action of concentration. The mental factor of wisdom (prajñā) in the five consciousnesses enables accurate judgment and discrimination of the five sense objects without confusion.

Because the five consciousnesses can only engage with coarse sense objects and cannot discriminate mental objects (dharmas), their wisdom is very inferior. They possess little mental activity and minimal capacity for thought or discrimination. Therefore, they lack many wholesome or unwholesome mental factors. Wholesome and unwholesome mental factors primarily operate on mental objects. Thoughts and concepts belong to mental objects; it is because the sixth and seventh consciousnesses engage with mental objects that there are so many wholesome and unwholesome thoughts and concepts, and wholesome/unwholesome mental factors. The five consciousnesses lack these. The five consciousnesses have a slight degree of the fundamental afflictions (kleśa): greed, aversion, delusion, and doubt. A small amount of greed arises actively from the five consciousnesses themselves; most is directed by manas. Aversion is almost entirely instigated by manas. Delusion is mostly directed by manas, with a small part due to their own weak discriminative power.

The doubt (vicikitsā) of the five consciousnesses can only pertain to the accuracy and truthfulness of the sense objects they themselves discriminate. They cannot doubt other dharmas. They lack the broad doubt about all dharmas characteristic of the sixth consciousness or manas, because the mental power of the five consciousnesses is weak, lacking the power of thought. The wisdom of the five consciousnesses is extremely inferior; they lack the power of thought. Therefore, individually, they have little mental activity, few afflictions, and little wholesome mental state. The vast majority of their wholesome or unwholesome mental factors exist only by relying on manas and the sixth consciousness. They manifest wholesome or unwholesome mental factors only when driven by manas or influenced by the sixth consciousness. In themselves, they are mostly neutral.

The major secondary afflictions (upakleśa) of the five consciousnesses, instigated by manas, include lack of faith (āśraddhya), laziness (kausīdya), heedlessness (pramāda), forgetfulness (muṣitasmṛtitā), incorrect perception/understanding (asaṃprajanya), distraction (vikṣepa), and dullness (styāna). They lack restlessness (auddhatya), the medium secondary afflictions of shamelessness (āhrīkya) and lack of propriety (anapatrāpya), and the minor secondary afflictions. Consequently, they also lack the opposing wholesome mental factors. This is because the five consciousnesses are relatively coarse and lack even slightly refined powers of thought. For non-Buddhist practitioners (tīrthika) with the four dhyānas and eight samāpattis, the major secondary afflictions of the five consciousnesses lessen and reduce. The fundamental afflictions can only be reduced, not eradicated. The mental factors of the five consciousnesses need not be identical for each person because manas varies greatly, leading to differences in the mental factors it induces in the five consciousnesses.

The five consciousnesses have the mental factor of sleep (middha), which temporarily ceases during sleep. They also have the mental factors of initial application (vitarka) and sustained application (vicāra). Vitarka is the eye consciousness roughly searching around. Of course, the act of searching is regulated by manas, and the direction of the search is also specified by manas. Wherever manas points, the five consciousnesses must direct themselves there; they have absolutely no autonomy. The sixth consciousness has slightly more autonomy, but the five consciousnesses have none at all. This is why it is said that most mental factors of the five consciousnesses exist dependent on manas and revolve according to manas. Observing the functioning of the five consciousnesses allows one to understand the mental activities (caitasika) of manas. The vicāra of the five consciousnesses occurs after vitarka has located the general area of a sense object; it is the quiet waiting for the sense object to appear or the careful discrimination of the object's characteristics. The five consciousnesses lack the mental factor of regret (kaukṛtya) because they have little power of thought and cannot discriminate mental objects; therefore, they cannot regret.

The wholesome mental factors of the five consciousnesses generally also exist only by relying on manas. These include faith (śraddhā), non-greed (alobha), non-aversion (adveṣa), non-delusion (amoha), diligence (vīrya), heedfulness (apramāda), equanimity (upekṣā), and non-harming (ahiṃsā). When manas is unwholesome, the five consciousnesses cannot be wholesome. The five consciousnesses cannot independently possess their own wholesome mental factors because the object of wholesomeness is mental objects, which the five consciousnesses cannot contact. Without the thinking power like the sixth and seventh consciousnesses, they cannot engage in wholesome or unwholesome mental activities. Wholesome and unwholesome mental states belong only to the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. After the five consciousnesses are transformed into wisdom (jñāna) at the stage of Buddhahood, they may fully possess wholesome mental factors, but this cannot yet be observed now.

Before Buddhahood, the mental factors of the five consciousnesses remain largely unchanged, except for those directed by manas. When manas is unwholesome, the five consciousnesses follow suit and become unwholesome; when manas is wholesome, the five consciousnesses follow and become wholesome. They are also influenced by the mental activities of the sixth consciousness in between. The mental factors uniquely corresponding to the five consciousnesses themselves are only the five universals, the five particulars, and the indeterminate mental factors of sleep, vitarka, and vicāra – totaling thirteen mental factors. Adding the wholesome/unwholesome mental factors that manifest only by relying on manas brings the total to thirty-two. However, this requires further detailed observation and is not a final conclusion. But the sixth and seventh consciousnesses undergo three transformations into wisdom upon attaining Buddhahood, with their mental factors transforming three times. The five consciousnesses transform into wisdom only once, at Buddhahood; their mental factors transform only then. This indicates that the five consciousnesses alone do not possess so many wholesome/unwholesome mental factors; they manifest only by relying on manas.