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Attain permanent liberation from the sufferings of death

The Five All-accompanying Mental Factors

The five all-accompanying mental factors are so called because they accompany every primary mind. If just one of them were missing, the primary mind would not be able to cognize its object. The five all-accompanying mental factors are:

1 Feeling

2 Discrimination

3 Intention

4 Contact

5 Attention

Feeling experiences an object as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral; discrimination functions to distinguish an object from other objects and thereby to identify it; intention enables the mind to move towards its object and become involved with it; contact perceives an object as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral and thereby serves as the basis for the development of feelings; and attention functions to focus the mind on a particular attribute of an object.

The need for all five of these mental factors to be present can be illustrated by considering a tongue consciousness tasting tea. Without the mental factor feeling, the tongue consciousness would not experience the taste of the tea as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. Without discrimination, it would not be able to distinguish the taste of the tea from other objects and so would not be able to recognize it. Without intention, an internal tongue consciousness could not become involved with the taste of the tea, which is an external object. Without contact, it could not perceive the taste of the tea as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral and so there would be no basis for developing pleasant, unpleasant or neutral feelings. Without attention, it would not be able to focus on the taste of the tea.

FEELING

DEFINITION OF FEELING

The definition of feeling is a mental factor that functions to experience pleasant, unpleasant or neutral objects.

Because there are three types of object – pleasant, unpleasant and neutral – there are three types of feeling that experience these objects – pleasant feelings, unpleasant feelings and neutral feelings. It is impossible to cognize an object without experiencing it as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.

Buddhas have only pleasant feelings; the gods of the form realm and the formless realm have pleasant and neutral feelings but do not have unpleasant feelings; and beings living in the desire realm experience all three types of feeling. During sleep most of our feelings are neutral feelings, but when we are dreaming we may also experience unpleasant and pleasant feelings.

FUNCTION OF FEELING

The general function of feeling is to experience the effects of previous actions, or karma. In the Sutras, Buddha says:

The fully ripened effects of actions ripen not on soil or stones, but only on consciousness.

This is because only consciousness has feelings, and only with feelings can we experience the ripened effects of actions. Virtuous actions result in pleasant feelings, non-virtuous actions in unpleasant feelings, and neutral actions in neutral feelings. We tend to think that pleasantness and unpleasantness are characteristics that exist from the side of the object, but in reality whether we experience an object as pleasant or unpleasant depends entirely upon our karma. Two people might eat the same food and one find it delicious while the other thinks it is revolting. If this happens it is because the first person has good karma ripening with respect to that food and the other has bad karma ripening.

More specifically, the function of contaminated feelings is to act as the basis for the three poisons – attachment, hatred and ignorance. Contaminated pleasant feelings induce attachment, contaminated unpleasant feelings induce hatred, and contaminated neutral feelings induce ignorance. In Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life Shantideva says:

Because of feeling, craving develops.

When ordinary beings develop pleasant feelings they develop craving, or attachment. Similarly, their unpleasant feelings induce anger, and their neutral feelings induce ignorance. By closely watching our mind we can observe these automatic reactions occurring almost continuously. Contaminated feelings are like moisture germinating the seeds of delusion that we have carried from previous lives. Foe Destroyers have eradicated the seeds of delusion from their mental continuum and so even when they develop intensely pleasant feelings they do not develop desirous attachment. Being free from self-grasping, their feelings are uncontaminated and so they cannot be the cause of delusions.

All contaminated feelings are objects to be abandoned. It is easy to generate a wish to abandon unpleasant feelings, but to generate a wish to abandon contaminated pleasant and neutral feelings we need a very good understanding of the nature of samsara. Both contaminated feelings and contaminated discriminations are key links in the chain that binds us to samsara. Contaminated discriminations identify objects as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral; and contaminated feelings experience them in these ways. Contaminated feelings then give rise to the three poisons, which in turn lead us to perform contaminated actions, the principal causes of rebirth in samsara.

The function of a person – to perform actions and experience their results – is completely dependent upon feeling and discrimination. If a person lacked discriminations he or she would not be able to perform any actions, and without feelings he or she would not be able to experience the results of any actions. Feelings and discriminations are so important that when Buddha explained the five aggregates he selected them from among the fifty-one mental factors and designated them each as a separate aggregate.

DIVISIONS OF FEELING

There are several ways of dividing feeling, including the threefold division already discussed:

1 Pleasant feelings

2 Unpleasant feelings

3 Neutral feelings

There is also a twofold division from the point of view of their uncommon dominant condition:

1 Bodily feelings

2 Mental feelings

Bodily feelings are feelings associated with the five sense consciousnesses. They are generated in dependence upon a sense power possessing form. Mental feelings are feelings associated with mental consciousness, which arise in dependence upon a mental power.

There is another twofold division from the point of view of their nature:

1 Contaminated feelings

2 Uncontaminated feelings

Contaminated feelings are feelings conjoined with self-grasping, and uncontaminated feelings are feelings conjoined with wisdom directly realizing emptiness. Until we attain the path of seeing, most of our feelings are contaminated feelings.

DISCRIMINATION

DEFINITION OF DISCRIMINATION

The definition of discrimination is a mental factor that functions to apprehend the uncommon sign of an object.

Every object has features that distinguish it from other objects and enable us to recognize it. The function of the mental factor discrimination is to apprehend these uncommon features. When we look at a tree, for example, our eye consciousness knows the tree because it discerns, or discriminates, the uncommon signs of the tree. If our eye consciousness lacked the mental factor discrimination it would not be able to distinguish the tree from other objects, and so it would not be able to recognize it. To recognize an object we need to understand what are its uncommon signs, or defining characteristics. For example, a newborn baby does not understand the uncommon signs of a wristwatch, and so it cannot recognize a watch as such.

FUNCTION OF DISCRIMINATION

The function of discrimination is to distinguish an object from other objects and to identify the object as ‘this’ and not ‘that’. Discrimination associated with conceptual minds also functions to impute, label or name objects. There are two ways of imputing: imputing by sound and imputing by thought. The former is the same as naming and the latter is the same as conceiving.

The defining characteristics of an object do not exist from the side of the object but are merely imputed by the mind that apprehends them. We can understand this by considering how different people view one object. For example, observing a particular person called John, one person may identify an enemy while another identifies a friend. If the characteristics of enemy and friend existed from the side of the person there would be a contradiction here, but since these characteristics are merely imputed onto the person by different minds there is no contradiction. From his own side John does not have a fixed set of defining characteristics waiting to be discovered by various minds; what he is depends solely upon how he is identified by the minds that apprehend him. We can choose how we discriminate objects. As Dharma practitioners we should choose to discriminate only in constructive ways, in ways that are conducive to virtue.

DIVISIONS OF DISCRIMINATION

There are three ways of dividing discrimination. First, from the point of view of uncommon dominant condition there are six types of discrimination:

1 Discriminations associated with eye consciousness

2 Discriminations associated with ear consciousness

3 Discriminations associated with nose consciousness

4 Discriminations associated with tongue consciousness

5 Discriminations associated with body consciousness

6 Discriminations associated with mental consciousness

If any of the six consciousnesses lacked the mental factor discrimination it would not be able to understand its object. Discrimination associated with eye consciousness is eye awareness but not eye consciousness, because consciousness is synonymous with primary mind.

There is also a twofold division of discrimination:

1 Mistaken discriminations

2 Non-mistaken discriminations

All wrong awarenesses have mistaken discrimination, and all unskilful actions of body, speech and mind result from mistaken discrimination. We act destructively because we are under the influence of delusions, and all delusions are based upon mistaken discrimination. Anger, for example, has a discrimination of its object as inherently unpleasant, while attachment has a discrimination of its object as inherently attractive. In both cases the discrimination is mistaken because attractiveness and unattractiveness depend upon the mind and do not exist from the side of the object.

If the mental factor discrimination is mistaken, the primary mind and all the other mental factors that it accompanies are wrong awarenesses. It is precisely because self-grasping and wrong views have mistaken discrimination that they apprehend wrong objects. The sixteen wrong thoughts explained in the Lamrim teachings and listed on pages 177–178 are all based on mistaken discriminations. For example, the second of these, not wishing to take the real meaning of our precious human life, involves the mistaken discrimination that the only meaning of this life is worldly pleasure. Dharma practitioners should make prayers to be free from all these mistaken discriminations because they severely hinder our attainment of the realizations of the stages of the path. Lamrim realizations are attained by eliminating these mistaken discriminations and developing the opposite, non-mistaken discriminations.

There are many causes of mistaken discriminations, such as previous imprints, familiarity, listening to wrong teachings or advice, and contemplating wrong reasons. We all have the seeds of mistaken discriminations but whether or not they ripen and influence our life depends to a large extent upon our lifestyle. If we lead a negative, or non-­virtuous, life we will tend to develop wrong thoughts as a way of justifying our behaviour; but if we lead a positive, or virtuous, life we will be much more likely to adopt correct thoughts.

The imprints of ignorance cause mistaken discriminations that apprehend an inherently existent self, even though such a self does not exist. Moreover, because of our familiarity with delusions we discriminate some people as our friends, some as enemies and some as strangers; but all these discriminations are mistaken discriminations because in reality all sentient beings are our mothers.

There is another twofold division of discrimination:

1 Clear discriminations

2 Unclear discriminations

If our discrimination is clear we will be able to learn ­easily and quickly. Clear and correct discrimination is a basis for improving our understanding, and it helps us to avoid unskilful actions of body, speech and mind.

As we fall asleep our discrimination becomes unclear, and so we are liable to make mistakes. To begin with, our senses are still working so that, for example, we can still hear sounds such as others talking, but we cannot clearly understand the meaning of what they are saying. People on their deathbed also have unclear discrimination and so it is difficult for them to understand instructions quickly, which is why they make many mistakes. Mental disability is also often caused by unclear discrimination.

Sometimes when we listen to teachings or read Dharma books we find them confusing and feel that they are not presented very clearly, but in reality it is our discrimination that is unclear. If our discrimination were completely clear we could understand teachings just through hand gestures!

Realizing that our feelings and discriminations stimulate delusions, some practitioners try to abandon feelings and discriminations completely by withdrawing their mind inwards through the force of concentration and thereby becoming absorbed in a subtle state where disturbing mental activity is no longer manifest. This state is known as the ‘absorption without discrimination’. It is a state in which the mind is single-pointedly absorbed in nothingness, with no gross feelings or discriminations. When these practitioners die they may be reborn as non-discrimination gods of the form realm, commonly known as the ‘long-life gods’, where they remain in absorption without discrimination for very long periods of time.

By preventing discrimination of gross objects these meditators make it impossible for gross delusions to manifest. However, they do not actually eradicate delusions in this way and so they do not attain liberation from samsara. Although it is possible to suppress gross feelings and discriminations associated with gross levels of consciousness, and thereby temporarily to avoid all the problems that they create, it is not possible to abandon the subtle feelings and discriminations associated with the subtle mind. When we fall into a deep sleep all the mental activity of which we are normally aware ceases and it seems as if we have become mindless, like an inanimate object, but what has actually happened is that our mind has become very subtle. Some practitioners attain a similar effect through the force of meditation and mistake it for liberation. In reality, however, they are merely temporarily absorbed in a state that resembles a long, deep sleep. Eventually, when their karma to remain in that state ends, their gross mental activity will resume and they will ‘wake up’.

At the time of the third Buddha, Buddha Kashyapa, two Hinayana meditators entered into absorption without discrimination, and through the power of their concentration remained in that state for millions of years without dying. It was not until after the fourth Buddha, Buddha Shakyamuni, had passed into parinirvana that these meditators were discovered beneath the ground near Varanasi. As they rose from their subtle level of consciousness and developed gross feelings and discriminations again, they asked where Buddha Kashyapa was, and Buddha Shakyamuni’s disciples had to explain that Buddha Kashyapa was no longer in this world, and that even Buddha Shakyamuni had appeared and passed away! After hearing this, both meditators died. Through the force of their concentration they had managed to isolate themselves for a long time from the problems of samsara, but they had not had any opportunity to make progress in their Dharma realizations while they were absorbed. Thus, when they finally rose from meditation they had received no benefit from their prolonged absorption.

Instead of trying to stop all discriminations it is more useful to try to develop correct discriminations. If we wish to overcome delusions completely, instead of just withdrawing our mind from the objects of delusion we should clearly identify the object of self-grasping, refute it with logical reason­ing, and then meditate on actual emptiness. We also need to cultivate many correct discriminations with respect to the method side of spiritual practice.

As followers of the Mahayana we should not become too interested in meditation on the absorption of feelings and discriminations because it has no long-term benefit. It does not help us to develop renunciation, compassion, bodhichitta, the correct view of emptiness or the realizations of the two Tantric stages. Sometimes it may be helpful to practise this absorption for a short time when our mind is very disturbed or anxious, but we should not regard it as our principal meditation.

INTENTION

DEFINITION OF INTENTION

The definition of intention is a mental factor that functions to focus its primary mind on an object.

It is only through the mental factor intention that our ­primary mind is able to focus on its object; without it our mind would be motionless. Although our body remains in our room, our mind can travel wherever it wishes because it has the mental factor intention associated with inner wind. Just as the movement of a candle flame depends upon external wind, so the movement of the mind depends upon the mental factor intention and inner wind. Our mind moves to an object by connecting with it, or becoming involved in it. For example, when we think of a distant city our mind ‘moves’ to that city by taking the city as its object.

FUNCTION OF INTENTION

The principal function of intention is to create karma. Of the three types of karma, or action – bodily actions, verbal actions and mental actions – intention itself is mental action. However, it is also the cause of bodily and verbal actions, because all our bodily and verbal actions are preceded by mental actions.

If a tree falls down and kills someone it does not accumu­late the karma of killing because it lacks the mental factor intention. All the karma created by sentient beings depends upon intention. If our intention is virtuous we create virtuous karma, if our intention is non-virtuous we create non-virtuous karma, and if our intention is neutral we create neutral karma. Intention plans the actions that we undertake, directing our action towards a particular goal. Since the quality of our experiences depends upon the quality of our actions, and the quality of an action depends upon the quality of the intention with which it is performed, ultimately all our happiness and unhappiness depend upon the mental factor intention. Even if someone is a great scholar, if he has bad intentions his knowledge will have little value and he will experience many problems.

According to the Sautrantikas and the Chittamatrins, only the mental factor intention is karma, but according to the Madhyamika-Prasangikas and the Vaibhashikas, bodily and verbal actions are also karma. However, whether these actions are virtuous, non-virtuous or neutral depends upon the intention that motivates them.

DIVISIONS OF INTENTION

There are three types of intention:

1 Non-virtuous intentions

2 Virtuous intentions

3 Neutral intentions

There are three types of non-virtuous action – non-virtuous bodily actions, non-virtuous verbal actions and non-virtuous mental actions – and most are included within the ten non-­virtuous actions. Of these, the first two are easy to recognize, but the third, non-virtuous mental actions, are more subtle and therefore more difficult to identify. The mental action covetousness, for example, is a type of desirous attachment that wishes to obtain the friends or possessions of others. Whereas desirous attachment in general may be a neutral mind, covetousness is necessarily non-virtuous. As with all complete actions, covetousness must have four conditions: the basis, intention, preparation and completion. The basis of covetousness might be someone else’s partner; the intention, the wish to obtain that person motivated by desirous attachment; the preparation, planning how to obtain that person for ourself; and the completion of the action, making a definite decision to obtain that person through our chosen method. This decision is the actual non-virtuous mental action of covetousness.

The four conditions must also be present to commit the actual non-virtuous actions of harmful thought and holding wrong views. Thus, the basis of harmful thought is another person whom we see as our enemy; the intention, the wish to harm them motivated by anger; the preparation, planning how to inflict harm on them; and the completion, making a firm decision to harm them. The basis of holding wrong views is any object, such as the existence of past and future lives, that must be understood to attain liberation; the intention, the wish to deny it motivated by ignorance; the preparation, thinking of reasons to prove that it does not exist; and the completion, making a firm decision that it does not exist. It is quite difficult for Dharma practitioners to ­create the actual karma of holding wrong views, but we still have many imprints or tendencies of wrong views and these often function to obstruct the development of pure faith.

There are many virtuous mental actions. Meditating on compassion is both a virtuous mental action and the mental factor intention, as is meditation on love. Whenever we listen to Dharma teachings, contemplate Dharma or meditate on Dharma, we are accumulating virtuous mental karma. There are many times when we cannot accumulate bodily and verbal virtuous karma, but we can always accumulate virtuous mental karma, even while we are relaxing, eating, enjoying ourself or sleeping. Mental karma is more important than bodily or verbal karma because it is our mental intention that determines whether a bodily or verbal action is virtuous or non-virtuous. If we do not have a virtuous intention, then even if we perform positive bodily actions they will not neces­sarily be virtuous karma because virtuous actions must have a virtuous motivation.

There are many intentions that are neutral mental actions, such as deciding what to eat for breakfast or deciding what to wear.

Intention can also be divided from the point of view of its effect:

1 Meritorious actions

2 Non-meritorious actions

3 Unfluctuating actions

Meritorious and non-meritorious intentions can each be subdivided into those that are throwing karma, those that are completing karma and those that are karma whose results are experienced in the same life. These three types of action are explained in detail in Joyful Path of Good Fortune.

CONTACT

DEFINITION OF CONTACT

The definition of contact is a mental factor that functions to perceive its object as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.

Whenever our mind cognizes an object, it perceives it as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. This is the function of the mental factor contact. If contact perceives an object as pleasant, pleasant feelings will develop, and if contact perceives the object as unpleasant, unpleasant feelings will develop. Thus, contact makes the development of feelings possible, which is why it precedes feeling in the serial order of the twelve dependent-related links.

FUNCTION OF CONTACT

Besides perceiving objects as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral, contact also functions to give rise to feelings. For example, if in the first moment of a tongue consciousness tasting tea the mental factor contact associated with that consciousness perceives the tea as pleasant, we will subsequently develop a pleasant feeling.

DIVISIONS OF CONTACT

There are six types of contact:

1 Contact associated with eye consciousness

2 Contact associated with ear consciousness

3 Contact associated with nose consciousness

4 Contact associated with tongue consciousness

5 Contact associated with body consciousness

6 Contact associated with mental consciousness

ATTENTION

DEFINITION OF ATTENTION

The definition of attention is a mental factor that functions to focus the mind on a particular attribute of an object.

An eye consciousness, for example, is moved towards the general entity of an object by the mental factor intention, but it is the mental factor attention which focuses that consciousness on a particular attribute of that object. Intention is said to be like a horse travelling along a road, while attention is said to be like the reins that direct the horse. Thus, a ­primary mind focuses on the general entity of its object through the power of the mental factor intention, and on particular attri­butes of the object through the power of attention.

FUNCTION OF ATTENTION

Attention has four functions: (1) to focus the mind on a particular object, (2) to fix the mind on that object, (3) to prevent the mind from moving from the object, and (4) to serve as a basis for mindfulness and concentration. Without the mind being focused and fixed on an object through the power of attention there is no possibility of developing mindfulness and concentration. Every mind has a certain degree of attention, though some minds, such as non-ascertaining perceivers, have very weak attention, whereas others, such as those that occur when we are in an agitated state, have ­unstable attention that flits from one object to another. To develop concentration we need both strong and stable attention.

DIVISIONS OF ATTENTION

There are two types of attention:

1 Correct attention

2 Incorrect attention

Correct attention is an attention whose engaged object exists, and incorrect attention is an attention whose engaged object does not exist. All wrong awarenesses have incorrect attention.

There is another twofold division of attention:

1 Appropriate attention

2 Inappropriate attention

The former is the same as correct attention and the latter is the same as incorrect attention.