Fifty-one mental states

Fifty-one Mental States or Factors (Skt. ekapañcāśaccaitasika; Tib. semjung ngabchu tsachik; Wyl. sems byung lnga bcu rtsa gcig) as mentioned in the Abhidharma teachings.

Five ever-present factors (kun ‘gro lnga)

1. Sensation (Skt. vedanā; Wyl. tshor ba)
2. Perception (Skt. saṃjña; Wyl. ‘du shes)
3. Intention (Skt. cetanā; Wyl. sems pa)
4. Contact (Skt. sparśa; Wyl. reg pa)
5. Attention (Skt. manaskāra; Wyl. yid byed)

Five object-determining factors (yul nges lnga)

1. Interest (Skt. chanda; Wyl. ‘dun pa)
2. Appreciation (Skt. adhimokṣa; Wyl. mos pa)
3. Mindfulness (Skt. smṛti; Wyl. dran pa)
4. Concentration (Skt. samādhi; Wyl. ting ‘dzin)
5. Intelligence (Skt. prajñā; Wyl. shes rab)

Eleven virtuous states (dge ba’i sems byung bcu gcig)

1. Faith (Skt. śraddhā; Tib. dépa; Wyl. dad pa)
2. Sense of shame (Skt. hri; Wyl. ngo tsha shes pa)
3. Sense of decency (Skt. apatrāpya; Wyl. khrel yod pa)
4. Nonattachment (Skt. alobha; Wyl. ma chags pa)
5. Nonaggression (Skt. adveṣa; Wyl. zhes sdang med pa)
6. Nondelusion (Skt. amoha; Wyl. gti mug med pa)
7. Diligence (Skt. vīrya; Tib. tsöndrü; Wyl. brtson ‘grus)
8. Pliancy or flexibility (Skt. praśrabdhi; Wyl. shin tu sbyang ba)
9. Conscientiousness (Skt. apramāda; Tib. bayö; Wyl. bag yod pa)
10. Evenness or Equanimity (Skt. upekṣā; Tib. tang nyom; Wyl. btang snyoms)
11. Nonviolence (Skt. avihiṃsā; Wyl. rnam par mi ‘tshe ba)

Six root destructive emotions (rtsa nyon drug)

1. Ignorance (ma rig pa)
2. Desire (‘dod chags)
3. Anger (khong khro ba)
4. Pride (nga rgyal)
5. Doubt (the tshom)
6. Beliefs (lta ba)

When the last state of beliefs or 'views' is divided into the five wrong views, there are fifty-five mental states in total.

Twenty subsidiary destructive emotions (nye nyon nyi shu)

1. Rage (khro ba)
2. Resentment (‘khon du ‘dzin pa)
3. Spitefulness (‘tshig pa)
4. Cruelty (rnam par ‘tshe ba)
5. Envy (phrag dog)
6. Deception (g.yo)
7. Pretension (sgyu)
8. Lack of shame (ngo tsha med pa)
9. Disregard (khrel med pa)
10. Concealment (‘chab pa)
11. Miserliness (ser sna)
12. Self-satisfaction (rgyags pa)
13. Lack of faith (ma dad pa)
14. Laziness (le lo)
15. Carelessness (bag med pa)
16. Forgetfulness (brjed ngas)
17. Inattention (shes bzhin min pa)
18. Lethargy (rmug pa)
19. Excitement (rgod pa)
20. Distraction (rnam par g.yeng ba)

Four variables (gzhan ‘gyur bzhi)

1. sleep (Skt. middha; Wyl. gnyid)
2. regret (Skt. kaukṛtya; Wyl. ‘gyod pa)
3. conception (Skt. vitarka; Wyl. rtog pa)
4. discernment (Skt. vicāra; Wyl. dpyod pa)

Further Reading

• Herbert V. Guenther & Leslie S. Kawamura, Mind in Buddhist Psychology: A Translation of Ye-shes rgyal-mtshan's "The Necklace of Clear Understanding", (Dharma Publishing, 1975)