Mental Factors

Mental factors (cetasika) are the supporting qualities of mind that arise alongside every moment of awareness, coloring how we experience anything — things like attention, feeling, perception, intention, mindfulness, and also greed, anger, or kindness. They matter because they are what actually make a state of mind wholesome or unwholesome, so watching them is the heart of practice. For example, when you notice a flash of irritation while reading a message, that irritation is a mental factor riding along with the simple act of knowing the words.