Awareness as mental-formation group of conscious existence (Buddhism)

One of the five interacting aggregates that produce the illusory ego, this group is unified by volition (cetana) which is inseparably bound-up with all conscious phenomena. Being volitional, it is therefore action and, as such, generative of karma, both good karma favourable to progression and bad karma, a spiritual hindrance.

In Hinayana Buddhism, mental-formation is considered as anything that is perceived as being mental-formation, whether past, present or future, internal or external, subjective or objective, gross or refined, superior or inferior, far or near.

The formations aggregate is the aggregate of all that has the characteristic of forming or composing and also of adding together to form an agglomerate or compound. The formations have the function of accumulating or combining. Their manifestation is intervening, being busy. As proximate cause are the other three immaterial or mental aggregates: consciousness, feeling and perception. As regards karma they are three-fold: when associated with profitable or moral consciousness they are profitable; associated with unprofitable or immoral consciousness they are unprofitable; associated with indeterminate consciousness they are indeterminate.

The group is analyzed, in Hinayana Buddhism, as consisting of 50 mental phenomena or concomitants of consciousness. Of these, 25 are karmically wholesome or neutral, 14 or 13 are karmically unwholesome, and 11 or 12 are general elements. Within these distinctions are primary (always present in that type of consciousness) and secondary (sometimes present).

The general elements include the 5 primary concomitants to all consciousness: contact, sensation or mental impression (phassa); volition (cetana); life or vitality (jivita); attention or advertence (bringing to mind - manasikara); and concentration (samadhi). Sometimes also distinguished is steadiness of consciousness, although others consider it a different grade of concentration and do not include it separately. These 5 or 6, along with the feeling and perception aggregates (khandas) (which are sometimes included in the list making it 52), are concomitants to any consciousness. The remaining 6 general elements of the mental formation group are not always present in all forms of consciousness: applied thinking; sustained thinking; resolve; energy; happiness (zest); zeal (desire).

The profitable elements include 19 primary concomitants to any profitable or indeterminate profitable-resultant consciousness: faith; mindfulness; conscience (sense of shame); shame (dread of blame); non-greed (absence of greed); non-hate (absence of hate); specific neutrality (equanimity); tranquillity or repose of mental body (mental factors); tranquillity or repose of consciousness (or mind); lightness or buoyancy of mental body (mental factors); lightness or buoyancy of consciousness (or mind); pliancy or malleability of mental body (mental factors); pliancy or malleability of consciousness (or mind); wieldiness of mental body (mental factors); wieldiness of consciousness (or mind); proficiency or fitness of mental body (mental factors); proficiency or fitness of consciousness (or mind); rectitude of mental body (mental factors); rectitude of consciousness (or mind). Secondary profitable elements, sometimes but not always present in profitable and indeterminate profitable-resultant consciousness are 6: Abstinence from bodily misconduct; abstinence from misconduct in speech; abstinence from wrong livelihood; compassion or pity; gladness or sympathy.

The unprofitable elements include 4 primary concomitants to any unprofitable or indeterminate unprofitable-resultant consciousness: Delusion; consciencelessness (having no conscientious scruples); shamelessness; agitation. Secondary unprofitable elements, sometimes but not always present in unprofitable and indeterminate unprofitable-resultant consciousness are 10: hate; envy; avarice; worry; greed; wrong view; pride (conceit); stiffness; torpor; uncertainty. Stiffness and torpor are sometimes considered together, making a total of 9.

These formations are variously associated with the the 89 kinds of consciousness comprising the vinnana-khanda, depending not only upon whether they are profitable, unprofitable or indeterminate but also upon the sphere (sense, fine-material, immaterial or supramundane).

For example, there are 36 elements associated with the sense sphere, profitable consciousness accompanied by joy, associated with knowledge, unprompted whether sometimes or always present. Of these, 27 are said to be constant (appearing in their true nature), 5 are inconstant (immutable by nature) and 4 described as "or-whatever-states". All these 36 (except for some exceptions in particular instances) are associated with all the states in the "profitable" consciousnesses of the consciousness aggregate. Exceptions include absence of happiness in states accompanied by equanimity, for example. Also excluded are the elements associated with jhana factors not included in a particular jhana in the fine-material, immaterial and supramundane spheres (the three abstinences, applied thought, sustained thought, happiness, compassion, gladness).

There are 17 elements associated with the sense sphere, first unprofitable consciousness rooted in greed, of which 13 are constant and 4 "or-whatever-states". There are slight differences for the other consciousnesses rooted in greed. There are 18 elements associated with the first kind of unprofitable consciousness rooted in hate, of which 11 are constant, 4 are "or-whatever-states" and 3 inconstant. There are slight differences for the other consciousness rooted in hate. There are 13 elements associated with the first kind of unprofitable consciousness rooted in delusion, of which 11 are constant and 2 are "or-whatever-states". There are slight differences for the other consciousness rooted in delusion.

Again, different groups of elements are associated with indeterminate resultant and functional consciousnesses - for example, 4 constant (contact, volition, life and steadiness of consciousness) and one "or-whatever-state" (attention) are associated with eye, ear, nose, tongue and body consciousnesses.

The mental activities or formations are comparable with the secondary mental factors and the afflictions of Tibetan Buddhism. They are also the second of 12 links – nidana – perpetuating the cycle of birth and death as delineated in the Buddhist causally continuous doctrine of being.