Mental factors (Buddhism)


Mental factors, in Buddhism, are identified within the teachings of the Abhidhamma. They are defined as aspects of the mind that apprehend the quality of an object, and that have the ability to color the mind. Within the Abhidhamma, the mental factors are categorized as formations concurrent with mind. Alternate translations for mental factors include "mental states", "mental events", and "concomitants of consciousness".

Introduction

Mental factors are aspects of the mind that apprehend the quality of an object and have the ability to color the mind. Geshe Tashi Tsering explains:
The relationship between the main mind and the mental factors can be described by the following metaphors:
Traleg Rinpoche states that the main distinction between the mind and mental factors is that the mind apprehends an object as a whole, whereas mental factors apprehend an object in its particulars.

Lists of mental factors

Within Buddhism, there are many different systems of abhidharma, and each system contains its own list of the most significant mental factors. These lists vary from system to system both in the number of mental factors listed, and in the definitions that are given for each mental factor. These lists are not considered to be exhaustive; rather they present significant categories and mental factors that are useful to study in order to understand how the mind functions.
Some of the main commentaries on the Abhidharma systems that are studied today include:
The Mahavibhasa and Abhidharmakośa have 46 mental factors which include:

Ten mental factors

The ten mahābhūmika dharmas are common to all consciousness.
The ten kuśala mahābhūmikā dharmāḥ accompany the wholesome consciousnesses.
The six kleśa mahābhūmika dharmāḥ accompany kleśa.
Within the Theravāda Abhidhamma tradition, the Abhidhammattha-sangaha enumerates the fifty-two mental factors listed below:
Note that this list is not exhaustive; there are other mental factors mentioned in the Theravada teachings. This list identifies fifty-two important factors that help to understand how the mind functions.

Seven universal mental factors

The seven universal mental factors are common to all consciousness. Bhikkhu Bodhi states: "These factors perform the most rudimentary and essential cognitive functions, without which consciousness of an object would be utterly impossible."
These seven factors are:
The six occasional or particular mental factors are ethically variable mental factors found only in certain consciousnesses. They are:
The unwholesome mental factors accompany the unwholesome consciousnesses.
The fourteen unwholesome mental factors are:
Bhikkhu Bodhi states:

Twenty-five beautiful mental factors

The beautiful mental factors accompany the wholesome consciousnesses.
The twenty-five beautiful mental factors are:
Bhikkhu Bodhi states:

Mahayana Abhidharma tradition

Abhidharma studies in the Mahayana tradition are based on the Sanskrit Sarvāstivāda abhidharma system. Within this system, the Abhidharma-samuccaya identifies fifty-one mental factors:

Five universal mental factors

The five universal mental factors are:
  1. Sparśa - contact, contacting awareness, sense impression, touch
  2. Vedanā - feeling, sensation
  3. Saṃjñā - perception
  4. Cetanā - volition, intention
  5. Manasikāra - attention
These five mental factors are referred to as universal or omnipresent because they operate in the wake of every mind situation. If any one of these factors is missing, then the experience of the object is incomplete. For example:
The five object-determining mental factors are:
  1. Chanda - desire, intention, interest
  2. Adhimokṣa - decision, interest, firm conviction
  3. Smṛti - mindfulness
  4. Prajñā - wisdom
  5. Samādhi - concentration
The five factors are referred to as object-determining is because these factors each grasp the specification of the object. When they are steady, there is certainty concerning each object.

Eleven virtuous mental factors

The eleven virtuous mental factors are:
  1. Sraddhā - faith
  2. Hrī - self-respect, conscientiousness, sense of shame
  3. Apatrāpya - decorum, regard for consequence
  4. Alobha - non-attachment
  5. Adveṣa - non-aggression, equanimity, lack of hatred
  6. Amoha - non-bewilderment
  7. Vīrya - diligence, effort
  8. Praśrabdhi - pliancy
  9. Apramāda - conscientiousness
  10. Upekṣa - equanimity
  11. Ahiṃsā - nonharmfulness

    Six root unwholesome factors

The six root unwholesome factors are:
  1. Rāga - attachment
  2. Pratigha - anger
  3. Avidya - ignorance
  4. Māna - pride, conceit
  5. Vicikitsa - doubt
  6. Dṛṣṭi - wrong view

    Twenty secondary unwholesome factors

The twenty secondary unwholesome factors are:
  1. Krodha - rage, fury
  2. Upanāha - resentment
  3. Mrakśa - concealment, slyness-concealment
  4. Pradāśa - spitefulness
  5. Īrṣyā - envy, jealousy
  6. Mātsarya - stinginess, avarice, miserliness
  7. Māyā - pretense, deceit
  8. Asāṭhya - hypocrisy, dishonesty
  9. Mada - self-infatuation, mental inflation, self-satisfaction
  10. Vihiṃsā - malice, hostility, cruelty, intention to harm
  11. Āhrīkya - lack of shame, lack of conscience, shamelessness
  12. Anapatrāpya - lack of propriety, disregard, shamelessness
  13. Styāna - lethargy, gloominess
  14. Auddhatya - excitement, ebullience
  15. Āśraddhya - lack of faith, lack of trust
  16. Kauśīdya - laziness, slothfulness
  17. Pramāda - heedlessness, carelessness, unconcern
  18. Muṣitasmṛtitā - forgetfulness
  19. Asaṃprajanya - non-alertness, inattentiveness
  20. Vikṣepa - distraction, desultoriness

    Four changeable mental factors

The four changeable mental factors are:
  1. Kaukṛitya - regret, worry,
  2. Middha - sleep, drowsiness
  3. Vitarka - conception, selectiveness, examination
  4. Vicāra - discernment, discursiveness, analysis

    Alternate translations

Alternate translations for the term mental factors include: