The Mind Faculty and Consciousness

Conclusion

The Content of the Manas Belongs to the Domain of the Seed-Wisdom of Consciousness-Only

Almost one hundred percent of people mistake the state of the manas for the state of the mind consciousness, so when someone speaks out about the true characteristics of the manas, they are accused of having reversed the manas and the mind consciousness. Yet in fact it is the one hundred percent and the more than ninety-nine percent who have reversed them. Because all of these people are replete with all afflictions, and because of the obscuration of the afflictions of ignorance, and because they have not transformed consciousness into wisdom, they cannot directly observe the actual functioning of the manas, and of course they will misunderstand it one hundred percent. In no era could it be possible that the vast majority of people are of high intelligence without afflictive obscuration, while a few individuals are of low intelligence, to the point of misunderstanding the Buddha's teachings. Those who err in the Sahā world will always be the vast majority, and those without wisdom will likewise always be the vast majority; it is impossible for the vast majority to transform consciousness into wisdom and possess the wisdom of wonderful contemplation—one hundred times impossible. Therefore, those self-proclaimed clever people had best not be too self-confident, and even less should they slander, lest the consequences be grave.

All the content of the manas belongs to the domain of the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only (yogācāra); all consciousness-only content likewise belongs to the domain of the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only, and even more so the mental factors (caittas) of each consciousness. As long as one is not a bodhisattva who has attained the bhūmis, it is best to remain silent, not to speak everywhere and debate everywhere, because without the wisdom of direct-perception contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), one cannot directly observe the specific operational state of the manas; what one speaks out will mostly be imagination and conjecture, and one will often misattribute things. Buddhist practitioners in the Sahā world are mostly like this—it is impossible for many people to transform consciousness into wisdom and possess the wisdom of wonderful contemplation (pratyavekṣaṇā-jñāna) and the wisdom of equality (samatā-jñāna). If one does not have this wisdom, one should diligently practice in quietude, hoping to quickly attain first-dhyāna meditative concentration, quickly eradicate the afflictive obstructions (kleśāvaraṇa), quickly cultivate various contemplative wisdoms, and enter the house of the Tathāgata early; only then, within meditative concentration, should one directly observe the functioning of the manas through contemplative practice, lead the multitude in resolving the problems of the manas, and grow in consciousness-only wisdom.