Day 18 of 365: Who's driving the bus?

Before getting into today's Middle Way merriment, I wanted to put a plug in for yesterday's contemplation.  Looking naively for the self for a very short time and repeatedly throughout the day is really interesting and can be powerful in a really ordinary sort of way.  Personally, it gave me more of a feeling for how I really feel myself to be real on a daily, habitual level.  And, it helped habituate these contemplations in a good way.  Try it if you have time.  At least then I will know that there is at least one other person out there stopping and perhaps drawing curious stares from coworkers as they look at their watch on the hour and stop what they're doing for 30 seconds.

Today's inquiry is into the nature of who exactly is making all these decisions we think we're making and how the skandhas take that into consideration.  Who's driving the bus so to speak?  Well on my journey into that question, I found myself looking more closely at the 51 samskaras.  Skandhas 2 and 3 are actually in the 51 samskaras, but there are additional samskaras, or mental factors, which seem relevant to help look at this notion we have of the "driver".  In particular, the 5 Omnipresent Mental Factors and the 5 Mental Factors that Cause the Discovery of Objects stood out.  I've listed these below.  The 5 Omnipresent Mental Factors are "necessary in all aspects of cognition -- they accompany all conciousnesses". (SMR)  The 5 Mental Factors that Cause the Discovery of Objects "cause one to discover further what one is experiencing". (SMR)  Today's contemplation will involve looking at this process of steering the ship from the perspective of these 10 samskaras.  We often take things like intention as deeply personal.  Somehow, looking at this as a mental "event", raises questions about how solid this is.  How do these samskaras play out in a moment of deciding?

5 Omnipresent Mental Factors

1. Feeling (tshor-ba; vedana) is the basis for experiencing an object of the six senses (including the mental sense) as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. Without sensation mind could not experience its object.

2. Discrimination ('du-shes; samjna) apprehends the particular marks of an object of the six senses. Without discrimination mind could not distinguish the characteristics of the object. It could also not link it with further mental processes like giving a name to the object.

3. Intention (sems-pa; cetana) which directs the mind towards an object of the six senses. Without intention mind could not go towards an object.

4. Contact (reg-pa; sparsha) which is the coming together of all three — object, sense faculty and perceiving consciousness. Without contact mind could not encounter the object and establish a relation with it. Contact provides the base for a sensation within one of the six sense fields to arise.

5. Application (yid-la byed-pa; manaskara) which is the continuous, repeated movement towards a certain object of interest. Without application mind could not remain fixed on an object of the six senses. There would be no stability.

5 Mental Factors that Cause the Discovery of Objects

1. Aspiration ('dun-pa; chanda) causes one to integrate the desired object and serves as the support for initiating exertion.

2. Interest (mos-pa; adhimoksa) apprehends the ascertained thing just as it is and causes one not to be captured by some other thing.

3. Mindfulness (dran-pa; smrti) keeps the already familiar object present in mind and protects against forgetfulness and distraction.

4. Meditative stabilization (ting-nge 'dzin; samadhi) is the ability to focus or collect the mind one-pointedly and continuously on any given mental object, not being distracted by any other object.

5. Wisdom (shes-rab; prajña) is the sixth paramita. It distinguishes the faults and qualities of an object and dispels doubts. It analyses the object from every angle. It is a mental state where one is able to distinguish completely and precisely all phenomena.