Guide to the Cultivation and Realization of the Manas: Part One

Chapter 8: The Manas as the Decision-Making Consciousness

1. The Decision-Making Nature of the Manas

The manas is the decision-making consciousness. Among the five aggregates and eighteen realms, all matters great and small are decided and directed by the manas. No one can substitute for the manas—not even the mind consciousness. Although the, and the six consciousnesses will quickly arise to obey the manas's指令 and respond; only afterward does the mind consciousness understand what happened. If the manas did not first discern the six sense objects and five sense objects, how could it take emergency measures extremely quickly when encountering major dangers? When the stress response is made, the mind consciousness does not even know what is going on. Clearly the manas is not simple; we must not underestimate Him. The manas pervasively conditions on the twelve bases and eighteen realms. The birth of any dharma requires the manas as a condition; without the manas as a condition, the tathāgatagarbha cannot directly give birth to any dharma—the manas itself excepted. The six faculties include the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body faculties; without the manas as a condition, these five faculties cannot arise. The six sense objects include form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma; without the manas as a condition, the tathāgatagarbha also cannot give birth to the six sense objects.

How were the body faculty and the other five faculties initially born? The manas and the tathāgatagarbha conceive together and dwell in the womb; the tathāgatagarbha, relying on karmic seeds, outputs the seeds of the four great elements, and gradually the five faculties are formed. After the five-aggregate body is born, the manas, relying on the tathāgatagarbha, knows all conditions of the five faculties. If a condition is somewhat special or serious and the manas cannot handle it, it will decide to produce the six consciousnesses to discern and handle it on its behalf; if it is unimportant and ordinary, the six consciousnesses will not be produced, and it is fine for the manas to know by itself. The same is true for the six sense-object realms of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma: the manas, following the tathāgatagarbha, can contact them all. Only if it wants to discern and handle them will it decide to produce the six consciousnesses; if subtle discernment and handling are not needed, no six consciousnesses arise, and the six consciousnesses do not know the objects. But the manas has the habit of chasing after objects; even for many dharmas the mind consciousness does not want to discern, the manas still has the six consciousnesses discern them, regardless of whether useful or useless.

Accidents in daily life occur outside the mind consciousness's awareness; karmic power arrives too quickly for the six consciousnesses to arise in time to discern and handle it, so one can only passively endure. The manas knowing alone is useless; He cannot handle it alone and must rely on the six consciousnesses to handle it.

15. The Mind Consciousness Corresponds to the Three Kinds of Karma and Turns Following the Manas

Question: The manas, before the transformation of the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti), is perpetually associated with tainted dharmas, and the manas is a perpetually operating consciousness. Therefore the eighth consciousness, implicated by the manas, forever corresponds only to tainted seeds, and as soon as the mind consciousness manifests, it corresponds to tainted seeds. So as long as the manas has not transformed to the untainted, the mind consciousness cannot possibly transform to the untainted, right?

Answer: If the manas has not eradicated afflictions, transformed consciousness into wisdom, and come to correspond with untainted dharmas, then the mind consciousness cannot eradicate afflictions and correspond with untainted dharmas. This proves that the manas is the decision-making consciousness; the six consciousnesses manifest relying on the manas, and the manas contains all afflictions, not just a portion of them. If the manas does not eradicate afflictions, the mind consciousness cannot eradicate afflictions; if the manas does not break through ignorance, the mind consciousness cannot break through ignorance—it can only subdue and suppress. Therefore cultivating only at the level of the mind consciousness is not ultimate; it can still be destroyed, can still turn following the manas, especially in future lives.

Although the manas corresponds with tainted dharmas, it also has wholesome mental factors and corresponds with wholesome dharmas; it also directs the six consciousnesses to create wholesome karma and stores seeds of wholesome karma. The eighth consciousness therefore also contains seeds of wholesome karma, not only seeds of unwholesome karma and tainted karma. Then when the mind consciousness and five consciousnesses manifest, they will also, relying on the manas, create wholesome karma and correspond with seeds of wholesome karma, not only with seeds of unwholesome karma and tainted seeds. The manas and the mind consciousness correspond with all three kinds of karma—at times wholesome, at times unwholesome, at times neither wholesome nor unwholesome.

16. Taking Refuge in a Dharma-Aspect Is Decided by the Manas

Taking refuge in a dharma-appearance is decided by the manas; only after the decision can it lead the five aggregates and six consciousnesses to begin taking refuge. Why does the manas make this decision? Because it has seen this dharma-appearance, recognized this dharma-appearance, and knows that this dharma-appearance is firm and reliable, is worthy of refuge, and that taking refuge in it will bring benefit—only then does it decide to take refuge.

Therefore, if the manas has not eradicated the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and has not seen the mind and realized the true, how could it know that the tathāgatagarbha is the truly reliable place of refuge? How could it decide, as the decision-maker, to rely even slightly on the tathāgatagarbha in creating the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the five-aggregate body? Therefore, if only the mind consciousness attains the fruits and sees the mind, it cannot subdue the body-mind world, and afflictions will grow ever stronger, because one feels one has gained something and has added a "self"; with a self there must be afflictions. Only when the manas also simultaneously attains the fruits and sees the mind can body and mind abide in meditative absorption (samādhi), subdue afflictions, make them ever lighter, and finally eradicate them.

17. Taking Refuge in True Suchness and Self-Nature Is Decided by the Manas

"Taking refuge" means relying, just as one relies on a great tree, because one knows the great tree is firm, can shelter from wind and rain, can avoid the scorching heat of the sun, and can let the body rest; and because one also knows the location of the great tree, one can walk toward it and sit or lie against it. It is also like living by relying on a great mountain, because one knows that in the great mountain there are various mountain delicacies and wild game to eat, timber to build houses, firewood for cooking, and one also knows information such as the terrain, topography, and altitude of the mountain's location—only then can one go to the great mountain and establish one's home and livelihood.

The operation of any matter is decided by the manas; the manas is the commander-in-chief and regulator. Of course, taking refuge in true suchness as a dharma is no exception. So before taking refuge in true suchness, the manas must understand the nature and characteristics of true suchness and know where true suchness is located; only then can it, according to the nature of true suchness, adjust its own body and mind, direct its mental activities toward true suchness, remove various defilements, and gradually turn toward purity and non-action. In this way, the manas must realize true suchness and self-nature before one can speak of taking refuge, relying, and turning toward it. Without realizing true suchness, one cannot turn toward true suchness, like a blind person who cannot see the sun. Therefore, even if the mind consciousness attains the fruits and the mind consciousness sees the mind, one remains no different from a blind person, unable to turn toward non-action, unable to empty the mind.