The Right Understanding of Manas

Chapter 13: The Manas and the Physical Body

1. Why the Conscious Mind Is Neither Inside, Outside, Nor in the Middle of the Physical Body

Although the six consciousnesses discriminate the inner six sense-objects within the supreme faculties (indriya), contact with the inner six sense-objects, and are never apart from the six faculties and six sense-objects, the minds of the six consciousnesses are not inside, outside, or in the middle of the physical body. In the first volume of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the World-Honored One taught that the conscious mind is not inside, outside, or in the middle of the physical body. This is because the conscious mind is formless and without marks, and cannot dwell within the physical body. If it dwelt within the physical body, then when dissecting the body, one would be able to find the conscious mind emerging from within it; yet even when the body is cut apart piece by piece, no trace of the conscious mind can be found. Therefore, the conscious mind is not inside the physical body. If the conscious mind were outside the physical body, then outside the body would be empty space, and the conscious mind in empty space would have nothing to do with oneself, would not fully belong to oneself, and could be used by others as well; if the conscious mind can act upon oneself, it can also act upon other sentient beings. If the conscious mind were in the middle between the physical body and empty space, yet there is no place that is truly called "the middle," and no so-called middle position can be found; therefore, the conscious mind is not inside, outside, or in the middle of the physical body.

The same applies to the manas and the tathāgatagarbha. Although the seventh consciousness constantly contacts the mental sense-objects (dharma-viṣaya) within the supreme faculties, is never apart from the mental sense-objects, never apart from the supreme faculties, and never apart from the brain, the seventh consciousness is likewise not inside, outside, or in the middle of the brain, nor inside, outside, or in the middle of the physical body. The reasoning is the same as for the six consciousnesses not being inside, outside, or in the middle of the physical body. The tathāgatagarbha is also like this: although the tathāgatagarbha pervades the five aggregates of the physical body, it is not inside, outside, or in the middle of the physical body, because it is formless and without marks.

2. Why Does One's Mouth Water Upon Merely Hearing About a Plum?

The passage in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra about eating a sour plum is a metaphor for the illusory nature of the state of the aggregate of perception. The aggregate of perception is the function of the six consciousnesses in knowing and grasping marks. But the reason the six consciousnesses know and grasp marks is that the manas wants to know and grasp, prompting the six consciousnesses to engage in corresponding activities. The body and mind of sentient beings mutually influence each other; certain activities of the mind-consciousnesses directly cause changes in the physical body. In particular, the manas has a controlling effect on the physical body and can prompt the conscious mind to undergo various changes. When the ear hears the name "sour plum" and the mouth waters with sour saliva, this shows that the manas understands the name of the sour plum heard by the ear consciousness and mind consciousness, and treats it as if a sour plum really existed. Based on experience, it knows that sour plums are very sour, and thus prompts the mouth to salivate. This also shows that all dharmas are produced through the combined operation of the three transformative consciousnesses (tri-pariṇāma-vijñāna) — this is the principle that all dharmas are consciousness-only.

After the mind knows the sourness of the sour plum, it grasps the mark of sourness, and thus the mark of sourness arises; the manas then prompts the tongue faculty to produce saliva. From one illusory dharma as a cause, another or more illusory dharmas are successively produced. The Buddha used this metaphor to show that the aggregate of perception is illusory and unreal, that the conditions for the arising of the aggregate of perception are also illusory and unreal, and that the fruits following the aggregate of perception are even more illusory and unreal. All psychological and physiological reactions are false and unreal; therefore, we should not grasp at the unreal feelings and experiences of body and mind.

The body and mind of sentient beings are closely related, closely connected, and mutually influential. The body influences the mind-consciousnesses, and the mind-consciousnesses can also influence the body; body and mind depend on and act upon each other. When the mind changes, the body also changes. The tathāgatagarbha and the manas in combination can change all dharmas, as long as the manas has sufficient strength — this strength refers to very strong meditative concentration (samādhi), that is, focused attention — and can bring the corresponding conditions to completion, creating the conditions for the tathāgatagarbha to produce all dharmas.

Upon hearing about a plum, the mouth waters with sour saliva. First, the mind consciousness knows that plums are sour, or has eaten sour ones and has had such experiences; only then does the manas produce the sour reaction in the mouth. These experiences have already been stored as seeds in the tathāgatagarbha. When someone mentions plums, the ear faculty and the manas simultaneously correspond to that speech; the ear consciousness and mind consciousness simultaneously discriminate and know its meaning; the manas, through the tathāgatagarbha, then transmits out the past information related to plums, and through the tathāgatagarbha influences the body, and the sour water flows out.

3. Material Form Can Influence the Physical Body and the Conscious Mind

For example, taking stimulants can enable athletes to perform beyond their normal level; taking sedatives or sleeping pills lowers a person's excitement or makes them fall asleep. These material forms have a great influence on the conscious mind, and can even make it cease. When material substances enter the body and are absorbed, they change the body's structural organization of the four great elements. When the four great elements change, the body changes. When the manas contacts the changed, abnormal physical body, its reactions are abnormal, and the mental state is abnormal. The mind consciousness wants to control it but cannot — this is called "beyond normal," exceeding the normal state. A person's mental state is manifested through the body consciousness and mind consciousness, and the reactions of the body consciousness and mind consciousness are controlled by the manas. Different substances entering the body mean different four great elements, causing different effects on the body, and also influencing the manas's reactions; the manas in turn influences bodily, verbal, and mental actions.

When the contacted sense-objects differ, the body consciousness and mind consciousness produced by the manas must discriminate different contacted objects, and the reactions of the conscious mind differ. These contacted objects are the objects of the body faculty and the manas. The manas pervasively contacts all dharmas; after the body consciousness and mind consciousness arise, they simultaneously discern the contacted objects, and there is the reaction of the conscious mind — that is, the so-called mental state. Therefore, different substances contain different proportions of the seeds of the four great elements, and different proportions of the seeds of the four great elements have different effects on the body. Thus, when the body absorbs different substances, its state differs; when the body changes, the contacted objects discriminated by the conscious mind change, and the reactions of the conscious mind change accordingly.

Some substances can stimulate the brain to be excited and the mind to be active, making the discriminating power of the conscious mind strong, such as stimulants; some substances can suppress brain excitement, making the discriminating power of the conscious mind weak, or causing it to lose its discriminating power, such as sleeping pills, sedatives, and so on. Additionally, overeating can also suppress brain excitement; the contacted objects within the supreme faculties change, and the discernment of the conscious mind becomes weak and poor. All this is related to the four great material elements in the body, and to the four great elements at the site of the supreme faculties. The contacted objects composed of the four great elements in the body are the "food" of the body consciousness and mind consciousness. When the four great elements are in harmony, first the manas's mental state is normal, and second, the mind consciousness's mental state is also normal. When the four great elements are out of balance, the manas's mental state is poor, and the mind consciousness's mental state likewise becomes poor. Sedatives and stimulants are two kinds of substances; the proportional structures of the four great element seeds composing them differ. After being absorbed by the body, they produce different contacted objects, so the reactions of the conscious mind differ, and the mental states differ.

For example, eating the five pungent herbs: after the body absorbs them, the structure of the four great material elements in the body changes, the contacted objects produced in the supreme faculties change, the manas's reactions change, and the reactions of the body consciousness and mind consciousness change; thus afflictions of lust and anger arise. The same principle applies to the influence of substances such as tobacco, alcohol, and drugs on the physical body, the manas, and the mind consciousness. Body and mind are closely connected, so sitting in meditation can harmonize the four great elements, making both body and mind peaceful and at ease. Material form can influence the mental activities of the conscious mind, but it does not play an absolute role; what plays the absolute and direct role is still the karmic seeds within the manas. Some people are not affected by poisons or other drugs, are not affected by the material four great elements, and can even change the four great elements.

4. What is the principle behind "quenching thirst by thinking of plums" and "salivating at the mention of sourness"? Without drinking water or eating anything, the problem of thirst is solved — who solved it? When one is thirsty, there is no saliva; when there is saliva, the mouth is no longer thirsty. How does saliva appear? The brain issues a command, transmitting it to all parts of the body, or to a certain part, and a certain reaction appears. Who issues the brain's command? It is issued by the manas; the tathāgatagarbha executes the command, supplies what is needed, satisfies the manas, and achieves the manas's aim. Therefore, if the manas has no desire, can any state appear? No state whatsoever would appear, no change whatsoever would occur.

Why does the manas, upon hearing about something sour, produce sour saliva? This "hearing," of course, is the subtle discernment of the ear consciousness and mind consciousness, after which the information is conveyed to the manas, and the manas knows about the sour thing. Knowing that it is sour, knowing what its nature is — is this known by the mind consciousness, by the manas, or by both? Both know it. Based on past experience, knowing the nature and function of the sour thing, one's imagination runs wild, as if it were really in one's mouth. The mind consciousness's flights of fancy mislead the manas; the manas is deceived, and lets the physical body produce the corresponding reaction — the sour water appears in the mouth, and the problem of thirst is temporarily solved. From this we can see that when the mind consciousness discriminates with non-valid cognition, if the manas does not know, it will be deceived, resulting in abnormal phenomena. It is evident that throughout beginningless kalpas, the mind consciousness has not deceived the manas infrequently, and then the manas makes the mind consciousness suffer for it.

When the solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) imagines itself standing at the edge of a cliff, the manas really believes it is standing at the edge of the cliff, and thus reactions of fear arise, preventing the foot from slipping; the sole of the foot certainly becomes tense, the whole body trembles, and out of fear of falling, the manas tightly controls the body faculty, tensing it. Who caused this? It was caused by the manas, and is also the result of the tathāgatagarbha activating the body faculty and body consciousness in cooperation. Due to the mind consciousness's improper attention (ayoniso-manaskāra), the manas's improper attention results, after which erroneous emergency measures and commands are issued, producing abnormal reactions of the body faculty.

Throughout beginningless kalpas, the mind consciousness's false teachings have led the manas to walk the wrong path, unable to return to the correct path. The mind consciousness's false teachings are the result of being perfumed by the manas's ignorance (avidyā). If the manas had no ignorance, the mind consciousness would certainly always be enlightened, and there would be no wrong views, false views, or false teachings, and the manas would likewise never have wrong views.

You deceive me, and I deceive you — this is cause and effect. When you are wrong, I am wrong, and then I make you wrong — this is cause and effect. Therefore, the cause of saṃsāric transmigration through the three realms and six paths, the cause of birth and death, is the manas's ignorance. And the manas's ignorance has existed since before beginningless kalpas, stored in the tathāgatagarbha, enabling the tathāgatagarbha to give rise to birth and death, and hence there is the suffering of transmigration.

5. Why the Seventh and Sixth Consciousnesses Cannot Simultaneously Operate Through Two or More Bodies Grasped as a False Self

The seventh consciousness cannot go into other people's bodies to operate, cannot make other people's bodies serve itself, and therefore cannot regard other people's bodies as its own possessions. Even if the manas could control the five aggregates of another person's body, it would be temporary, not lasting; He knows that another's body is not His own. This also involves the operation of the tathāgatagarbha, because a body not operated by one's own tathāgatagarbha cannot be regarded as one's own. If there were a divided body, the seventh consciousness would regard the divided body as itself, but there would still be a distinction of primary and secondary.

The manas also cannot go into other sentient beings' bodies to operate, and cannot manage other sentient beings' bodies, because they were not produced by one's own tathāgatagarbha. The manas clearly knows that such a body is not itself and does not belong to itself — except in cases of deliberate possession by ghosts and spirits. The manas follows what the tathāgatagarbha sees and manifests, clinging according to conditions; what one's own tathāgatagarbha cannot manifest, the manas cannot regard as its own. The seventh consciousness can only grasp the dharma-marks manifested and currently sustained by its own tathāgatagarbha as itself or as its own; anything else it does not consider its own.

If the mind consciousness lacks meditative concentration and has not cultivated a mind-made body (manomaya-kāya), the manas cannot simultaneously manifest two or more bodies. If the mind consciousness or the seventh consciousness has afflictions, is tainted (sāsrava), or has obstructions, then no matter how capable the tathāgatagarbha is, it cannot manifest multiple bodies for the manas. From this, we know that the functions of the tathāgatagarbha are obscured by the ignorance of the seventh consciousness; only when the seventh consciousness changes can the manas radiate great light. The tathāgatagarbha has unconditional great loving-kindness and great compassion of shared essence; it has always protected, complied with, and cared for its own seventh consciousness, storing all the tainted seeds of the seventh consciousness in its mind-substance, with the result that its own functions are obstructed — yet the tathāgatagarbha does not mind, appearing without resentment or regret.

Every day, the seventh consciousness carries its defiled mind, burdening and obscuring the tathāgatagarbha, yet never feels shame. Lack of shame and lack of embarrassment are not wholesome mental factors; they are defiled afflictive mental factors. Each of us should examine the mental factors (caittas) of our own mind consciousness: is there a sense of shame and embarrassment, is there a sense of guilt? Then examine whether our manas has wholesome mental factors, whether it has the mental factors of shame and embarrassment — then we will know whether we are wholesome or unwholesome. In this way, we need not consider ourselves so very wholesome and so very good every day, but can correctly know ourselves and thereby change ourselves.

6. Why can fright kill a person? In death, the six consciousnesses cease first, and the manas leaves the body. When frightened, for what reason does the manas choose to leave the body? Such fright must have frightened the manas itself — the fear is felt from deep within outward, to the point of harming the body, causing severe pathological changes in bodily organs, especially the heart, so that blood cannot flow normally, the body can no longer be used, the supreme faculties are severely obstructed, the mind consciousness and body consciousness cannot operate, and the manas can no longer guard the physical body — thus it quickly leaves the body.

Why can the manas not guard the body? When the manas is frightened, it first shakes the cerebral cortex and central nervous tissues; then the central nervous tissues transmit the shock information to all parts of the body, to the visceral nerve tissues, causing great changes and great reactions in the internal organs, so that blood flow becomes abnormal, nerve transmission becomes abnormal, bodily functions are obstructed, the internal organs cannot operate normally, the brain's central nervous tissues cannot operate normally, and the six consciousnesses cannot operate normally — until the six consciousnesses vanish. With both the body and the six consciousnesses unable to function, the manas feels the body can no longer be used; at this moment, because of the shock, its judgment may be inaccurate, and so it decides to leave the body.

With mild fright, one does not take it seriously, and can even laugh heartily afterward, even mocking oneself for being timid. But with severe fright — trembling all over, shaking all over — when the fright is so great that the gallbladder bursts, the fright involves the gallbladder; the gallbladder can no longer function, and the person can die or fall seriously ill. Emotional stress reactions can damage the five viscera and six bowels. There are idioms: "heartbroken to the extreme," "grief-stricken to the point of collapse," "dying of depression," "dying of rage" — all are results of the stress reactions made by the manas. Mental state, spirit, and willpower can affect the health of the physical body; conversely, the health of the physical body also affects emotions and mental state — body and mind can mutually influence each other.

What can destroy the five viscera and six bowels? What can make the body perish? What can tear at the heart and lungs? What exactly is the thing that can kill? Being beaten black and blue — who did the beating? All dharmas are produced through the combined operation of the eight consciousness-kings. If one fully clarifies the individual functions of each, one at least has the specific-characteristics wisdom (svalakṣaṇa-jñāna) of prajñā. In every dharma, there are at least four consciousnesses operating — there is the true mind, and there are also deluded minds; one cannot emphasize only a single mind, for a single mind cannot function.

7. How Ghosts and Spirits Control Others' Physical Bodies

Ghosts and spirits control others' physical bodies by controlling the manas, thereby controlling the person's brain nerves, and thereby controlling the person's physical body. When controlled by ghosts and spirits, sometimes the mind is clear but one cannot be master of oneself; the body does not obey one's commands, and one's verbal actions and speech also do not obey one's commands. Sometimes the mind is unclear and muddled; one does not know what one has done, and one's mouth utters nonsense — most of the time, one is not even aware of it. Sometimes the words one wants to say cannot be spoken, and what comes out are words one does not want to say.

For ghosts and spirits to control another's physical body, their manas must be stronger than the human's manas, or the karmic affinity between the two must be good, with mutual affinity; then the ghosts and spirits can enter the person's body and direct and control the person's bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Everyone wants to be their own master and does not want to be manipulated by others. Therefore, ordinarily a person's manas does not consent to ghosts and spirits possessing the body or to being controlled, and puts up strong resistance; when the manas does not consent, resistance appears. If the ghosts and spirits refuse to give up, they will use superknowledge (abhijñā) to subject the person to various tribulations, until the person's manas compromises and is willing to temporarily withdraw from the master's position and hand over administrative authority; thereafter the body is used by the ghosts and spirits. If the two have an affinity and are close, and the manas agrees to temporarily yield its position, then the ghosts and spirits can easily occupy another's physical body without causing that body suffering.

But how do ghosts and spirits control another person in place of that person's manas? We need to understand through what means and channels our own manas controls our own body-mind world. If we find the switch for bodily, verbal, and mental actions, we will know how the manas regulates bodily, verbal, and mental actions, and we can know how ghosts and spirits can control another's bodily, verbal, and mental actions. The switch by which the manas regulates the physical body is at the supreme faculties; the nervous system within the supreme faculties extends throughout the whole body. As long as ghosts and spirits occupy the supreme faculties and then control the body's major acupoints, they can control the person's entire body. Sometimes even the mind consciousness is controlled; sometimes they cannot control the mind consciousness, or do not control it — the mind consciousness clearly knows what the ghosts and spirits are doing, but can do nothing about it and cannot be master. The switch regulating bodily balance is at the cerebellum; if the cerebellum has problems, the body loses balance. Ghosts and spirits must also control the cerebellum's nervous system to let the person walk normally.

The principle of raising corpses through the power of mantras is the same. When reciting mantras, the ghosts and spirits are dominated by the mantra power, enter the corpse, and take control of the corpse's central nervous system, making the corpse rise and walk — the corpse can move its legs and raise its arms. The ghosts' or spirits' manas and tathāgatagarbha both occupy the corpse and regulate it, so the corpse can walk. If the tathāgatagarbha and the manas are separate, neither can alone enter the corpse to control it. If the person died only recently, the corpse can even be made to speak.

At the very beginning, ghosts and spirits use superknowledge to control the supreme faculties; the mind consciousness and manas cannot normally discern the mental sense-objects, and thus cannot effectively control their own body faculty; at this point, the ghosts' or spirits' manas and tathāgatagarbha come to manipulate the person's body faculty. When the brain nerves are controlled by ghosts and spirits, the whole body is at their disposal — they make it do whatever they wish. If the ghosts and spirits want to drive this person into frenzy: first, they use superknowledge to manifest an illusory, false appearance for the person's six consciousnesses to discern, whereupon the person behaves abnormally, achieving the aims of subjugation and revenge; second, they make the person's six consciousnesses perform erroneous, non-valid discernment of the normal inner representation (inner ākāra), making the six consciousnesses' behavior bizarre.

It is not easy for the manas and tathāgatagarbha of ghosts and spirits to enter another's physical body; they must open the channels of the brain's central nervous system. Once opened, entering again becomes easy, and it also becomes easy for other ghosts and spirits to enter. Ghosts and spirits must not only open up the possessed person's brain nerves, but also open the body's major meridians and occupy the major acupoints; only then can their manas and mind consciousness dominate and regulate the person's body. Our own manas likewise regulates our own body in this way, mainly regulating the whole body through the brain's nervous system. Therefore, as soon as the manas has a mental activity, the brain nerves immediately move, and the physical body immediately undergoes changes. Therefore, when the manas is touched or stirred, the physical body will have corresponding reactions.

To eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and attain seeing the mind, the manas must be stirred; once the manas moves, the physical body reacts, and both body and mind change. When the manas and tathāgatagarbha of ghosts and spirits withdraw from the body, the situation is somewhat similar to a sentient being at the time of death: the ghosts' or spirits' manas and tathāgatagarbha gradually leave from the site of the brain's supreme faculties, and once the person's nervous system and whole body are about to lose their controller, it is as painful as the dissolution of the four great elements. At that time, one's own manas and mind consciousness have not yet fully taken over the physical body. But one's own tathāgatagarbha has not left, and of course the manas has not left the physical body either — otherwise the person would die; the manas is simply unable to regulate itself.

8. The Mutual Relationship of Body and Mind

When the heart meridian is blocked — holding grudges. When the liver meridian is blocked — anger. When the spleen meridian is blocked — complaining. When the lung meridian is blocked — sorrow. When the kidney meridian is blocked — stress. When the pericardium meridian is blocked — repression. When the gallbladder meridian is blocked — anxiety. When the stomach meridian is blocked — irritability. When the bladder meridian is blocked — despondency. When the small intestine meridian is blocked — grief. When the large intestine meridian is blocked — chagrin. When the triple burner meridian is blocked — tension.

Why can blocked meridians lead to various abnormal psychological and emotional states? Blocked meridians are a physiological phenomenon; emotional disorder is a psychological state. Physiology and psychology mutually influence each other; body and mind are mutually dependent.

This "mind" certainly refers first to the manas, and only secondarily to the mind consciousness. But when the mind consciousness at such times wants to control the manas's abnormal psychological state, it is often very difficult. Therefore, sometimes the mind consciousness does not want to lose its temper, yet the manas loses it anyway; whatever the mind consciousness does not want to do, the manas does anyway, and the mind consciousness is helpless.

As soon as any change occurs in the body, there is a psychological reaction, showing that the manas, relying on the tathāgatagarbha, can know the body's condition at all times, discerning it very keenly; its power of wisdom (prajñā-bala) in this respect is not weak, and it does not necessarily need to discern through the mind consciousness. The vast majority of the time, the mind consciousness does not know what condition the body is in; it may need to ponder painstakingly to understand a little, or may still fail to understand — many people, even when gravely ill, still do not know what is going on.

The manas and the physical body are intimately related. First, because the manas grasps the body, regarding the physical body as "I," even the slightest pain or itch in the body is important and worthy of attention, and therefore there are all kinds of reactions. Second, because the manas issues commands and transmits information through the brain's nerve tissues, once the meridians are blocked and the information cannot be transmitted, the manas develops all kinds of emotions. If one can cultivate to the stage of being unaffected by the aggregate of form, then no matter what happens to the body, it will absolutely not affect the manas's psychology.