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: (Note that this list is considered not exhaustive; there are other mental factors mentioned in the Mahāyāna teachings. This list identifies fifty-two important factors that help to understand how the mind functions.)
Five universal mental factors The five universal mental factors (
sarvatraga) are: •
Sparśa – contact, contacting awareness, sense impression, touch •
Vedanā – feeling, sensation •
Saṃjñā – perception •
Cetanā – volition, intention •
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: • If there is no
sparśa (contact), then there would be no basis for perception. • If there is no
vedana (feeling, sensation), there is no relishing of the object. • If there is no
saṃjñā (perception), then the specific characteristic of the object is not perceived. • If there is no
cetanā (volition), then there is no movement towards and settling on the object. • If there is no
manasikāra (attention), then there is not holding onto the object.
Five object-determining mental factors The five object-determining mental factors (
viṣayaniyata) are: •
Chanda – desire (to act), intention, interest •
Adhimokṣa – decision, interest, firm conviction •
Smṛti – mindfulness •
Prajñā – wisdom •
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 (
kuśala) mental factors are: •
Sraddhā – faith •
Hrī – self-respect, conscientiousness, sense of shame •
Apatrāpya – decorum, regard for consequence •
Alobha – non-attachment •
Adveṣa – non-aggression, equanimity, lack of hatred •
Amoha – non-bewilderment •
Vīrya – diligence, effort •
Praśrabdhi – pliancy, mental-flexibility •
Apramāda – conscientiousness •
Upekṣa – equanimity •
Ahiṃsā – nonharmfulness,
nonviolence Six root unwholesome factors The six root unwholesome factors (
mūlakleśa) are: •
Rāga – attachment •
Pratigha – anger •
Avidya – ignorance •
Māna – pride, conceit •
Vicikitsa – doubt •
Dṛṣṭi – wrong view
Twenty secondary unwholesome factors The twenty secondary unwholesome factors (
upakleśa) are: •
Krodha – rage, fury •
Upanāha – resentment •
Mrakśa – concealment, slyness-concealment •
Pradāśa – spitefulness •
Īrṣyā – envy, jealousy •
Mātsarya – stinginess, avarice, miserliness •
Māyā – pretense, deceit •
Śāṭhya – hypocrisy, dishonesty •
Mada – self-infatuation, mental inflation, self-satisfaction •
Vihiṃsā – malice, hostility, cruelty, intention to harm •
Āhrīkya – lack of shame, lack of conscience, shamelessness •
Anapatrāpya – lack of propriety, disregard, shamelessness •
Styāna – lethargy, gloominess •
Auddhatya – excitement, ebullience •
Āśraddhya – lack of faith, lack of trust •
Kauśīdya – laziness, slothfulness •
Pramāda – heedlessness, carelessness, unconcern •
Muṣitasmṛtitā – forgetfulness •
Asaṃprajanya – non-alertness, inattentiveness •
Vikṣepa – distraction, desultoriness
Four changeable mental factors The four changeable mental factors (
aniyata) are: •
Kaukṛitya – regret, worry, •
Middha – sleep, drowsiness •
Vitarka – conception, selectiveness, examination •
Vicāra – discernment, discursiveness, analysis ==Alternate translations==