The Right Understanding of Manas
Chapter Six: How to Realize the Manas
1. Based on the characteristics and nature of the manas, seek to identify it. For instance, the manas possesses an instant-by-ininstant quality of sovereignty and decision-making. All bodily, verbal, and mental actions are produced through the manas’s instantaneous command and direction. Every physical action is directed by the manas; from this, the manas can be realized. Every verbal action is directed by the manas; from this, the manas can be realized. Every mental action is directed by the manas; from this, the manas can be realized.
Especially in sudden events, when consciousness has no time to think, the one making the decision is the manas. The manas commands the body to suddenly dodge or suddenly perform an action; this commander and decider is the manas. In truth, even ordinary, non-sudden bodily and verbal actions are directed and commanded by the manas. The manas functions intuitively. If one’s mind is subtle enough and concentration strong enough, even without sudden events, the manas can be found in its constant sovereignty. Every bodily action, every verbal action, is commanded and decided by the manas.
During dreamless sleep, consciousness ceases, and there is no consciousness to perceive the existence of the manas. Even if the manas can perceive its own existence, it cannot inform consciousness because consciousness is absent at that time. What the manas knows cannot be clearly expressed in words or language, so consciousness cannot clearly comprehend it.
The manas is also a consciousness, possessing the discerning nature of consciousness. It can discern independently of consciousness and can discern prior to consciousness. However, the manas’s discernment is coarse and crude, lacking subtlety; details are unclear, and it sometimes errs in discernment. In discerning the six dusts, the manas is far inferior to consciousness in clarity, detail, and depth. Consciousness is the tool for observation and contemplation in the six dusts, supported silently by the manas and the ālaya-vijñāna, which continuously supply energy, exercise sovereignty, and issue commands, enabling consciousness to operate continuously.
2. When we think “I… I… I” or when the mind perceives “I… I… I,” seek the manas there. The so-called “I” includes the “I” of consciousness and the “I” of the manas. By distinguishing the natures of these two, one can find the “I” of the manas—the one that is deeply hidden, stubborn, decisive, and resistant to persuasion. This is the “I” of the manas. This is seeking and realizing the manas at the point of its function. When you think “I… I… I,” reflect there to identify which “I” is the manas that enjoys commanding and dominating.
However, this is slightly more difficult. It is faster and easier to seek the constantly sovereign manas in its quality of sovereignty. The mind that decides “I want to do this” or “I want to do that” is the manas. For example, when feeling hungry, the manas habitually decides to eat. As soon as it decides to eat, consciousness begins to think about what to eat, searches for food, and once found, the manas decides to eat immediately. In this process, the manas makes numerous significant decisions and commands, along with countless subtle ones. Find the “I” that commands, and that is the manas.
3. In the operation of all phenomena, exclude the analytical function of consciousness and discover an instinctive function that does not allow for contemplation—the one that swiftly and decisively commands and decides is the manas. The one that directly commands the body to react is the manas. The one that directly causes bodily changes is the manas. For example, seeing a poisonous scorpion crawl onto one’s body immediately causes one’s heart to race—this reaction is triggered by the manas. Hearing bad news immediately causes one’s face to pale, head to buzz, and mind to go blank without thought; consciousness cannot react—this is directly induced by the manas.
Another optimal time to find the manas is during sudden, unexpected events. Observe your reaction when an unexpected event occurs. The immediate reaction without thought—the mind that decides during the reaction—is the manas. Seek it there. The more sudden the event and the faster the response, the easier it is to find the manas commanding the reaction. Consciousness has no time to react or think; it is entirely the manas making decisions based on habits and instincts accumulated over beginningless kalpas, then causing the six consciousnesses to produce bodily, verbal, and mental actions—all very rapidly.
For example, when something suddenly flies toward you and is about to hit you, you deftly dodge without thinking. The mind that decides to dodge is the manas. Since beginningless kalpas, it has clung to the body as “I” and continuously attended to the physical self. It knows the condition of the physical body and matters related to it. When encountering sudden danger, it commands the body to dodge immediately to avoid harm. The one that decides to dodge urgently is the manas.
Or, when boiling water at home, if hot water suddenly splashes onto your hand, the immediate decision to flick your hand away is made by the manas. Consciousness has no time to contemplate how to respond. The sudden contact of the hot tactile object with the body gives consciousness no time to consider the danger or how to handle it, nor to analyze what is happening. The manas decides instantly to flick the hand away to avoid the hot tactile object, causing the body to react swiftly. After flicking the hand away, the mind may feel lingering fear or pain—this reaction is that of consciousness.
Separate the natures of the manas and consciousness; once separated, it becomes easier to find the manas. As for the eight consciousnesses, during the operation of the five aggregates, separate each consciousness into individual components. Observing the operation of each consciousness reveals its function and nature. After separating and identifying the seven consciousnesses, the remaining one is the manas. Contemplating the eight consciousnesses in this way leads to swift and direct realization. Similarly, contemplating the illusory nature of the five aggregates involves separating and observing each aggregate’s activity. Understanding each aggregate’s function and nature allows one to observe the arising, ceasing, and changing of each aggregate, realizing they are all impermanent, illusory, and devoid of self.
4. Question: In daily life, can we find and experience the manas? For example, when feeling an itch, hunger, thirst, heat, or a strong desire to do something, knowing that the final decision lies with the manas, consciousness deliberately refrains from acting, forcing a delay. During this period, observe what the manas is doing or thinking. After all, the manas still has the will to decide whether to act. This is seeking the traces, origin, or source of the manas. Over time, can this lead to realizing the manas?
Answer: This is also a good method to realize the manas. The manas makes decisions instantaneously—it exercises sovereignty. The manas decides to scratch an itch, eat, drink, seek a breeze, or do something. Whenever an action is taken, it is decided and commanded by the manas; thus, the manas can be found there. If consciousness deliberately disobeys the manas’s command, observing the manas’s reaction reveals its mental activities and habitual tendencies. If impatience or urgency arises, that is the manas.
When consciousness disobeys the manas’s command, there is also the manas’s command to temporarily refrain from an action. Ultimately, consciousness cannot exercise sovereignty; what to do or not do is decided by the manas. Even consciousness’s refusal to obey the manas is permitted and decided by the manas. From this, it is clear that the manas sometimes complies with consciousness’s decisions; it is not entirely self-willed, autocratic, or militaristic in its governance. The manas exercises sovereignty and makes decisions instantaneously in every event. Through this characteristic, the traces of the manas can be found, leading to its realization.
5. Question: When sense faculties contact objects, consciousness arises. Since consciousness cannot arise apart from the subtle sense faculty, can it be concluded that the manas resides in the subtle sense faculty?
Answer: The manas is not entirely confined to the subtle sense faculty. The manas pervades the entire brain. It does not depart from the subtle sense faculty but is not limited to it. Beyond the subtle sense faculty, there are mental objects (dharma-dusts), which the manas must discern. Whenever the eighth consciousness manifests phenomena, the manas necessarily relies on the eighth consciousness to perceive and discern them.
