宗鏡錄 52.18

52.18

Answer: There are four meanings. An ancient worthy said: First, being the master: the avidyā of the first six consciousnesses is a guest because it is intermittent, whereas the avidyā of the seventh is the master because it is uninterrupted. Second, constantly operating: in the stage of outflows, it constantly produces active manifestations without interruption, hence it is called constantly operating. Third, unshared: it is not like the solitary [avidyā] of the sixth consciousness that is called unshared; the unshared of the sixth is merely called unshared because it does not arise together with the other nine afflictions, whereas if the seventh is called unshared, it is because its obstruction of undefiled dharmas is preeminent, and also because it operates constantly without interruption. Fourth, when the first six consciousnesses range across the minds of the three moral natures, the avidyā of this [seventh] consciousness always produces active manifestations: that is, when the first six consciousnesses are minds of wholesome nature, their inability to forget characteristics in giving and so forth is entirely due to this constantly operating unshared avidyā of the seventh internally grasping at a self, causing the six consciousnesses and so forth, when practicing giving, to be unable to realize that the three wheels are empty in substance. Furthermore, because there is unshared avidyā, it is constantly able to serve as an obstruction, preventing that undefiled wisdom which ought to arise from arising. Because this avidyā coexists with the seventh consciousness and is not abandoned up to the present, it is called 'co-operating.' Furthermore, a sūtra says: 'Conditioned by the eye and form, eye consciousness arises; ... up to: Conditioned by manas and dharmas, manovijñāna arises.' If this [seventh] consciousness did not exist, that manas would not exist. The eye faculty and the object of form serve as two conditions able to engender and lead to the eye consciousness; up to: the manas faculty and the object of dharmas serve as two conditions able to engender and produce the manovijñāna. If the seventh consciousness did not exist, the sixth consciousness would have only the single object of dharmas as condition and would lack a supporting faculty condition. Since there is a coexistent faculty, one clearly knows that it is precisely the seventh consciousness that serves as the coexistent faculty for the sixth consciousness. The Hīnayāna says: 'Our school takes the physical heart-flesh as the support for the sixth consciousness; why is it necessary to separately posit the existence of a seventh consciousness?' The author of the treatise refutes this, saying: One also cannot say that the sixth depends on form, because the sixth must exist depending on manas, and manas is said not to be form. Furthermore, it is said that the sixth has three conceptualizations: conceptualization by recollection, conceptualization by calculation, and intrinsic conceptualization. If one conceded that the sixth abided depending on form, it would then be identical to the first five consciousnesses and would lack the two kinds of conceptualization—recollection and calculation. In defense, they say: 'In our school, for the five consciousnesses, the faculty comes first and the consciousness comes later; thus, the five faculties of the previous moment engender the five consciousnesses of the subsequent moment.' The author of the treatise refutes this, saying: Wherever there is a faculty, just as a leaf arises depending on a seed, sprout and seed are simultaneous; a shadow is produced by relying on a body, and shadow and body exist together. When consciousness arises depending on a faculty, in principle they must be simultaneous; there is no such thing as a faculty of the previous moment engendering a consciousness of the subsequent moment. Since the five consciousnesses have coexistent faculties, this is used to prove that the sixth must also have a coexistent faculty, which is precisely the seventh consciousness. To cite reasoning as proof: what is said in the teachings to possess pondering is precisely the seventh consciousness. The Hīnayāna says: 'It is merely the immediately preceding [moment of the] sixth that is named the pondering manas; why is it necessary to separately state that the seventh is the pondering manas?' The author of the treatise refutes this, saying: Take, for instance, when the sixth manovijñāna is present: the mind of the immediately preceding moment has already ceased and lacks substance; how could it have the function of pondering to be named manas? Take, for instance, the sixth consciousness: when it resides in the present, although it has pondering, it is constantly named vijñāna and not named manas; it must wait until it is in the past before it is named manas. One must have faith that there is a seventh consciousness, which possesses constant and deliberate pondering, before it can be named manas. 'Manas' has the meaning of support. As for the immediately preceding manas, it only metaphorically receives the name of manas by depending on this seventh, because [the seventh] possesses the function of coexistent support and pondering. Furthermore, the seventh consciousness is accompanied by the four afflictions, hence it is called defiled; it constantly and deliberately ponders, hence it is named manas. It constantly possesses the constantly operating unshared avidyā, hence it is called defiled. This is precisely the veiled [morally indeterminate] nature, which has the meaning of veiling the real conditions and obscuring the pure, wonderful wisdom. As for 'constantly and deliberately pondering,' this distinguishes it from the eighth and the first six consciousnesses: 'constantly' means without interruption; 'deliberately' means decisively grasping at self and dharmas.