Fifty Verses on the Nature of Consciousness Part III

The next five verses, Twenty-Three through Twenty-Seven, describe the nature and characteristics of the sixth consciousness, mind consciousness (manovijñana). As we have learned, manas is the base of mind consciousness, and because the mode of perception of manas is always erroneous, much of what we perceive in our mind consciousness is also false. Because the nature of manas is obscured, our mind consciousness is often also covered over by delusion. Unlike manas, however, our mind consciousness is capable of other modes of perception as well—direct or inferred. When our mind consciousness is able to perceive things directly, it is capable of touching the realm of suchness.

The way to train our mind consciousness in correct perception is through mindfulness. This is the most important contribution of the mind consciousness. When we are mindful, when we are aware of all our actions of body, speech, and mind, we can choose to act, speak, and think in wholesome ways rather than in harmful ways. With the energy of mindfulness generated by our mind consciousness, we can avoid watering seeds of anger, craving, and delusion in our store consciousness and we can water seeds of joy, peace, and wisdom. This is why it is so important to train our mind consciousness in the habit of mindfulness.

 Twenty-Three

 With manas as its base 
and phenomena as its objects, 
mind consciousness manifests itself. 
Its sphere of cognition is the broadest.

Twenty-Four
Mind consciousness has three modes of perception. 
It has access to the three fields of perception and is capable 
of having three natures. 
All mental formations manifest in it—
universal, particular, wholesome, unwholesome, and indeterminate.

Twenty-Five
Mind consciousness is the root of all actions of body and speech. 
Its nature is to manifest mental formations, but its existence is not continuous. 
Mind consciousness gives rise to actions that lead to ripening. 
It plays the role of the gardener, sowing all the seeds.

Twenty-Six

Mind consciousness is always functioning 
except in states of non-perception, 
the two attainments, 
deep sleep, and fainting or coma.

Twenty-Seven
Mind consciousness operates in five ways—
in cooperation with the five sense consciousnesses 
and independent of them, 
dispersed, concentrated, or unstably.