Why Must the Five Consciousnesses Discern the Five Objects Through the Determination of Manas?

Question: When my body itches, I can't help but want to scratch it. Immediately, I realize that this is all the body consciousness contacting the dust of sensation—where is the itch? Do not create action. Thus, by not attending to this place, the itch soon disappears. If I continue to attend to it, the itch remains; if I again do not attend to it, the itch disappears once more. After going back and forth twice, with a slightly longer interval in between, if I then do not attend to it, the itch vanishes completely. Has the itch truly disappeared?

Answer: When the sense faculties and sense objects contact each other, consciousness arises. Once consciousness arises, it cognizes the sense objects. After cognizing, it gives rise to sensations, feeling cold, heat, touch, pain, itch, etc. Following this, it produces emotions such as suffering, pleasure, sorrow, joy, and equanimity. This is the sequential operation of the six entrances, contact, and sensation within the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. Whether the sense faculties and sense objects contact each other is determined by the mental faculty (manas). For example, when the body itches, if the mental faculty does not attend to the itchy spot but shifts attention elsewhere, then the mental consciousness and body consciousness cannot manifest at the itchy spot. The contact dust of itch is not cognized, the sensation does not arise, and thus one does not know the itch or feel it. This is the mental faculty shifting attention, causing the six consciousnesses not to arise in that place, so it is not cognized. It is not that there is no itch. If the mental faculty does not shift attention, the body faculty interacts with the contact dust of itch, and the body consciousness and mental consciousness arise to cognize the contact dust of itch. Then, one feels itchy. Afterwards, the mental faculty chooses to scratch the itch, so the body consciousness and mental consciousness proceed to scratch.

This demonstrates that the mental faculty is the sovereign consciousness, commanding the contact between sense faculties and sense objects, controlling the arising, ceasing, coming, and going of the six consciousnesses, governing the cognition of the six consciousnesses, and directing bodily, verbal, and mental actions. This also shows that whether the five sense faculties (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body) contact the five sense objects (form, sound, smell, taste, touch) is decided by the mental faculty. The cognition of the five consciousnesses is also determined by the mental faculty. This then raises a question: Why does the mental faculty command the arising and cognition of the five consciousnesses? Why does the mental faculty decide the cognition of the five sense objects by the five consciousnesses? Since the mental faculty can make such decisions, it must first have cognized the five sense objects before it can accept or reject them, make judgments, and make choices. This indicates that the mental faculty can cognize the six sense objects; it does not solely cognize the mental objects (dharmas). Otherwise, how could the five sense faculties contact the five sense objects, and how could the five consciousnesses arise?