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Five Universally Interactive Mental Formations
Hearing the bell invites every cell in our body to participate, so that the wholesome energy of mindfulness deeply penetrates; within each cell, our ancestors, parents, and descendants are all present and enjoy peace. When we hear the bell, the listener and the sound of the bell become one, there is no longer any distinction between subject and object, the one who hears and what is heard become a seamless whole.
The five universal mental formations arise very quickly, including:
- Contact (xúc): the state of vibration when sense organ, sense object, and consciousness come together, serving as the basis and foundation for feeling.
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Attention (manaskāra): the mental action of directing the mind toward an object, of which there are two kinds:
- Appropriate attention (Yoniso manaskāra) leads the mind to beneficial objects.
- Inappropriate attention (Ayoniso manaskāra) leads the mind into afflictions.
- Feeling (vedanā): the sensation of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral.
- Perception (saññā): the abstraction of the sign of the object, helping with recognition but also capable of deception.
- Volition (cetana): the will that urges the mind to act, leading to actions of love-hate, grasping-rejection.
Mindfulness (anusmṛti) intervenes as soon as contact and attention arise, to maintain mindfulness, to transform feeling and perception in the direction of peace and happiness. Alayavijñāna — store consciousness — preserves all seeds, both constant and changing, serving as the foundation for the arising of the other six consciousnesses and for the maturation (vipāka) of each moment.
Birth and Buddha Are Not Two – The Third Gatha