  Passages such as this present a metaphysical picture of mental and  psychological individuation as arising in dependence upon the  activity of empirical consciousness. Consciousness, however, is not  treated as the direct cause for the manifestation of body, feelings  and perceptions. Rather, the Buddhist tradition assigns this causal  role to the four elements. The structure is one of mutual entailment:  on the one hand, feelings, perceptions, and volitions are caused by  contact resulting from intentional states of cognitive awareness; on  the other hand, the psycho-physical aggregates in turn condition the  manifestation of consciousness.