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Mahayana Tripitaka - Northern Transmission - Yogacara School 02
Mental formations are psychological states that always accompany the primary mind. Among them, the five universal mental formations can arise at any time, with any consciousness, and include:
- Attention (Manaskāra – the initial turning of the mind toward an object)
- Contact (touch/contact – the encounter between sense organ and sense object)
- Feeling (pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral sensations)
- Perception (recognition, perception)
- Volition (intention – the psychological motivation)
Contact is not limited to physical touch but can arise through all six sense organs – eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body (and mind consciousness) – with the six sense objects: form, sound, smell, taste, touch. For example, the earth-touching mudra (Bhumisparsha mudrā) symbolizes the Buddha’s contact with the earth to bear witness to the depth of his practice over many lifetimes.
Meditation is the practice of contact with mindfulness in order to “truly live” in the present moment. Just a patch of blue sky – as with Meursault in L’Étranger – can awaken mindfulness: the greatest miracle is to be aware that we are alive. Each breath, each mindful step, or each sound of the bell is an opportunity to practice “wherever mindfulness touches, there radiates liberation” – wherever mindfulness makes contact, there shines the light of freedom.