The Functioning of the Mental Factors of the Seventh Consciousness

When the six faculties contact the six sense objects, the six consciousnesses arise; the six faculties and the six sense objects together constitute the twelve entrances (āyatanas). The six faculties refer to the supreme faculties (indriya), located at the back of the head; the five supreme faculties together with the manas constitute the six faculties, also called the six inner entrances. The six sense objects are the inner five sense objects, plus the material form included in the dharmāyatana, which makes the six inner sense objects, also called the six outer entrances. The six inner entrances and the six outer entrances together are called the twelve entrances. Among them, the faculties and the sense objects are definitely together; the six inner sense objects arise within the supreme faculties at the back of the head, contacting the six faculties. Only when faculties and sense objects are together can they make contact; after contact, when the manas directs its attention, the eighth consciousness can then produce the six consciousnesses.

When faculties and sense objects make contact, it means the faculties and sense objects are definitely together—but where? The five supreme faculties are located at the back of the head, so the five sense objects must manifest and arise at the site of the supreme faculties at the back of the head; the inner five sense objects are definitely produced at that place of the supreme faculties at the back of the head, and thus the faculties and sense objects come together in contact. After the faculties and sense objects make contact, the eighth consciousness produces the five sense consciousnesses; at the same time, the mental sense object, which exists dependent on the five sense objects, is also at the site of the supreme faculties at the back of the head, contacting the manas, and the eighth consciousness simultaneously produces the mind consciousness, which discriminates the six sense objects together with the five sense consciousnesses—this is called consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna).

When the six faculties contact the six sense objects and the six consciousnesses are produced, the three then combine and make contact; that is, the six consciousnesses, relying on the six faculties, again contact the six sense objects, and can then discriminate the six sense objects. The faculties and sense objects are in constant contact; if the faculties and sense objects do not make contact, the six consciousnesses will cease. Then the six consciousnesses again contact the six sense objects; after contacting the six sense objects, there is the quality of reception—receiving and accepting the six sense objects—and the mental factor of feeling appears. After accepting the six sense objects, the six consciousnesses have discriminated the six sense objects and grasped the six sense objects, and the mental factor of perception emerges.

After discriminating the six sense objects, the six consciousnesses begin to deliberate (manasikāra); if the deliberation is unclear, they again direct attention, generating attention toward the six sense objects once more. After attention, there is again discrimination, again feeling; at this point, the feeling takes on the feeling-tones of suffering, happiness, sorrow, joy, and neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā). The initial feeling is reception, acceptance; after accepting, it is as if the six sense objects have been taken in, and only then does one know what the six sense objects are—this acceptance represents taking them in. The feeling that comes later carries emotional coloring, and the feelings of suffering, happiness, sorrow, joy, and neutrality will arise.

After the feeling emerges, if the feeling is not clear, one again takes the sign and discriminates, and the mental factor of perception will arise again; after the mental factor of perception arises and discriminates, deliberation begins again. If the deliberation is unclear, one makes contact again; after contact, there is reception and feeling, or at this point one directs attention again, and then there is discrimination again. There is contact again, discrimination again; here the order of the subsequent mental factors becomes scrambled. The initial order follows that of attention, contact, feeling, perception, volition—such is the operation of the five universal mental factors.

After feeling emerges, if the feeling is unclear, one again takes the sign and discriminates, and the mental factor of perception will arise again; after the mental factor of perception arises and discriminates, deliberation begins again. If the deliberation is unclear, one makes contact again; after contact, there is reception and feeling, or one discriminates again, or thinks again, or continues feeling; thus after discrimination and feeling, one deliberates again, until finally, when the matter has been deliberated clearly and discriminated distinctly, the six consciousnesses give rise to a decisive mind; the manas, knowing this, also gives rise to a decisive mind, and begins to act—this is the mental factor of volition.

The content discriminated by the six consciousnesses must also be transmitted to the manas; the manas, at the same time, toward the six sense-object realms discriminated by the six consciousnesses, generates the operation of the five universal mental factors, producing a series of mental activities. Finally, when the manas gives rise to a decisive mind, deciding how to act, the eighth consciousness discerns this and, in accordance with the manas's deliberated decision and the dharma toward which He directs attention, operates in coordination. Because the eighth consciousness must know what the manas is attending to, which aspect of the mental sense object it attends to; only after knowing this can the eighth consciousness manifest the six consciousnesses upon that mental sense object. Once the six consciousnesses manifest, the bodily, verbal, and mental actions begin to be performed.

If the manas still has not deliberated clearly, then the manas will continue to make contact, continue to direct attention, continue to feel, continue to discriminate, and finally deliberate again and make a decision. Before the decision is made, the five universal mental factors keep operating back and forth; their order may not follow the sequence of attention, contact, feeling, perception, volition, and may be reversed. Contact may come first and discrimination after, or contact may come first and feeling first, with discrimination after feeling. Perhaps after discrimination there is feeling again, and if the feeling and discrimination are still unclear, deliberation continues. If the deliberation is still unclear, contact continues, feeling continues, discrimination continues.

Thus which mental factor comes first is not fixed, and the order here becomes scrambled. Initially there is attention; attention is definitely at the seed stage. At the seed stage, attention arises corresponding to that mental sense object; then the consciousness seeds are produced, right at that mental sense object; the manas then contacts the mental sense object, attends to that mental sense object, and the seeds are produced onto that mental sense object, forming the conscious mind. Contact with that mental sense object—first there is attention, then the seeds are produced; only after the seeds emerge and form the conscious mind can there be contact with the mental sense object.

After contact, there is reception; after reception, one takes the sign and discriminates; after discrimination, one deliberates. If the deliberation is unclear, contact continues; after contact there is reception and feeling, or at this point one directs attention again, and then there is discrimination again. There is contact again, discrimination again; here the order of the subsequent mental factors becomes scrambled. The initial order follows that sequence of attention, contact, feeling, perception, volition—such is the operation of the five universal mental factors.