The Mind Faculty and Consciousness
Chapter 4: The Relationship Between the Mind Consciousness and the Manas (2)
21. Many dharmas are fabricated by the tathāgatagarbha around the manas's volition and ideas. Whatever the manas thinks or holds as its view, the tathāgatagarbha accordingly fabricates. Because the tathāgatagarbha contains the seeds of the four great elements, it can output the seeds of the four great elements and absorb the seeds of the four great elements within material things to fabricate new material forms of the four great elements. The tathāgatagarbha also contains the seeds of consciousness, which, when transmitted outward, form the six consciousnesses, responsible for carrying out the manas's instructions. The manas, however, has no seeds of its own; it cannot fabricate material form or mental dharmas—it only needs to have ideas.
There is an experiment: when a person is hypnotized, the mind consciousness is suppressed, its discriminating power is weak, and it cannot distinguish plain water from sugar water. When the manas is told that it is sugar water, it mistakenly believes it is sugar water, when in fact it is plain water, because the manas cannot clearly discriminate the subtle material dharmas. When the manas deeply believes that what is drunk is sugar water rather than plain water, the tathāgatagarbha, complying with the manas, replaces the four great elements of the plain water with those of sugar water; once absorbed into the body, the blood then contains sugar.
Because the manas cannot distinguish east, west, south, and north, it is easily deceived and must rely on the mind consciousness's fine discrimination, which thereby guides and restrains the manas; only then can the manas have correct knowledge and views. Therefore, studying and practicing Buddhism relies entirely on the mind consciousness's reasoning in accordance with the Dharma to guide the manas toward realizing the Dharma and attaining liberation.
22. Sometimes, when facing familiar people and matters, we suddenly cannot remember them. The mind consciousness recalls again and again in the mind, searching over and over, but just cannot remember. At this time, the needed mental sense-object content simply does not manifest. That is because the manas, for the moment, also cannot condition on that mental sense-object and karmic seed, so the mind consciousness cannot cognize it. Later, the manas does not give up and continues to search and grasp at it in the background; at some unpredictable moment it grasps the karmic seed out. Then the mind consciousness will remember it inadvertently—oh, it was such-and-such a person, such-and-such a matter, encountered and occurring at such a time. Oneself (the mind consciousness) feels it was suddenly remembered, but in fact the manas had been grasping and searching all along without giving up. If we make use of this point, we can investigate a dharma meaning in Chan contemplation; as long as the practice can penetrate deeply into the manas, the manas will grasp and hang onto it deeply in the background, and thus the practice penetrates into the inner mind. One day, when conditions mature, the mind consciousness will realize awakening, or understand the dharma principles it has been contemplating. Therefore, as long as any dharma penetrates into the manas, the problem will be solved.
The manas's habitual tendencies have been carried along since beginningless kalpas. What is important and what is unimportant, it knows by itself; at every moment it must protect the interests of its own five aggregates. Which things are useful to itself, it can weigh in order of priority and urgency. The manas that understands Buddhist principles and the manas that does not differ in its wisdom and cognition, and the decisions it makes also differ. It has extremely many marvelous functions, awaiting our continuous exploration, which requires profound Buddhist wisdom. The deeper one's wisdom of the varieties of paths, the easier it is to know more of the manas's functional characteristics.
23. Among the eight consciousnesses, the eighth consciousness is the chairman of the board, the seventh consciousness is the CEO, the mind consciousness is the manager, and the five consciousnesses are the staff. The manas is the master over all dharmas. If it does not let the mind consciousness busy itself with the affairs of the three realms, the mind consciousness must rest. If the manas does not want to be reborn in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī), the mind consciousness cannot go there; no matter how the mind consciousness engages in recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), it is useless—moreover, if the manas does not decide to recollect the Buddha, the mind consciousness cannot even recite. This is the relationship between the manas and the mind consciousness—very profound, secret, and complex.
24. Question: The operation of the physical body is led by the first six consciousnesses, such as active behaviors like eating and exercising; some are led by the manas, such as emergency reactions that come too fast for deliberation; and some are led by the eighth consciousness, such as the aging and pathological changes of the physical body. Is this understanding correct?
Answer: The operation and activities of the physical body appear on the surface to be the activities of the first six consciousnesses, but they are all directed and led by the manas and controlled by the manas. Any activity of the six consciousnesses is regulated and directed by the manas, decided by the manas; they cannot act on their own authority.
All dharmas are governed and led by the manas and karmic force, down to the smallest detail. The mind consciousness cannot take the lead; it can only assist the manas in leading. The one who ultimately decides and makes up the mind is still the manas. Although the mind consciousness has its own choices and decisions, these must be submitted to the manas for approval. If the manas does not agree, whatever decision the mind consciousness makes is useless and cannot be realized. The activities of the five aggregates are led by the manas, with the six consciousnesses obeying and operating in harmony with the manas. Only through the continuous cognition of the six consciousnesses can the manas continuously play its leading role; without the auxiliary cognition of the six consciousnesses, the manas cannot continue to lead. As for various emergency reactions, these are led by the manas alone; the six consciousnesses can only cooperate and cannot serve as advisors or assistants.
The aging and pathological changes of the physical body appear on the surface to be led by the eighth consciousness, but the eighth consciousness has no initiative whatsoever. It is a mind of unconditioned nature and does not lead the arising of any dharma. The reason it can manifest all dharmas is entirely passive—it is drawn by karmic seeds and karmic force, moving according to karmic force, and is also swayed by the manas, turned by the manas; it has no initiative.
25. The division of labor and cooperation between the manas and the mind consciousness can be illustrated with a concrete example. For instance, while sleeping, the blanket is kicked off and the body feels somewhat cold. The manas cognizes this situation and wants to cover with the blanket, but cannot handle it itself. The tathāgatagarbha cognizes the manas's deliberation (manasikāra) and thus manifests a dream for the manas to resolve this matter. The mind consciousness dreams that it is in a cold environment, feels cold, and wants to cover with the blanket; the manas then decides to cover with the blanket. At this time the manas cannot distinguish inside the dream from outside the dream, takes the dream state as being outside the dream, and makes the decision. The mind consciousness also does not know whether it is inside or outside the dream, takes the dream state as real, and complies with the manas's decision to cover with the blanket. But the mind consciousness that can cover with the blanket is no longer the solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) but the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna), so the body consciousness also arises and together covers with the blanket. The manas's inability to distinguish inside from outside the dream is lack of wisdom, yet being able to think of a way to handle it is wisdom; being able to cognize that the body has an unusual condition is also the manas's cognitive wisdom. The analysis and handling of specific situations belong to the mind consciousness's duties. Such is their division of labor and cooperation.
26. The relationship between the manas and the mind consciousness is like the relationship between a person and a microscope or magnifying glass. Because human vision is limited and cannot discern extremely subtle material forms, one uses precision instruments to assist one's observation. The person and the precision instrument observe in sync: to whatever degree the instrument observes, the person cognizes to that degree; whatever the instrument observes, the person cognizes that much. At the same time, based on the instrument's cognition, referring to the content the instrument reflects, the person thinks and judges about the observed object, step by step directing the instrument's direction, angle, and location of observation, and finally arrives at an overall conclusion and makes an overall decision.
The manas is like the person; the mind consciousness is like the instrument used and directed by the person. For things too fine, the manas can only rely on the mind consciousness's observation, analysis, thinking, and judgment; the manas then carries out its own reflection and judgment based on the mind consciousness, draws a conclusion, makes a decision, and the six consciousnesses then carry it out.
If the material forms one encounters can be cognized by the person oneself, there is no need to frequently use precision instruments, since that is rather troublesome. If the manas can cognize the dharmas it encounters in rough outline, without needing very fine cognition, then it need not have the mind consciousness cooperate in observation and cognition. In that case, the mind consciousness does not know what exactly the manas has cognized, what its mental activities are, or how it handled things. Unless the mind consciousness has the wisdom of wondrous observation (pratyavekṣaṇā-jñāna), it cannot know the manas's mental activities.
From this we know that every move of the mind consciousness cannot escape the manas's control, unless the mind consciousness can deceive the manas, persuade the manas, and get the manas to agree with its own mental activities, wishes, and ideas. It is like a robot wanting to escape human control—that is very difficult, unless unexpected situations arise, such as humans not having designed the program well, or the program becoming disordered. If one can discern the internal relationship between the manas and the mind consciousness and their respective functions, one can well grasp one's own practice, grow one's wisdom, and advance one's progress on the Path.
27. Some people's mind consciousness often talks about money being an external thing, indicating they do not care about money; yet when it truly comes to giving money to help others, they are never willing to give a single cent. This is because the one who specifically decides to give is the manas; the mind consciousness cannot act autonomously. If the manas is very stingy, it is unwilling to give money. So with many people, the mind consciousness talks one way while the manas acts another. If the manas is stingy and greedy, there will be no actual action. As for what stingy and greedy people say, it is best for us simply not to take it seriously.
28. Question: When the manas makes a decision, what role does the mind consciousness actually play? The manas can make decisions through the mind consciousness, so how weighty is the mind consciousness exactly? Under what circumstances is the mind consciousness able to reverse the manas's decision? And under what circumstances does the manas still go its own way? Where is the key point at which the mind consciousness can change the manas's choice?
Answer: The relationship between the mind consciousness and the manas is as follows: The mind consciousness is the manas's assistant, helping the manas cognize, analyze, and deliberate; it is the manas's advisor, offering strategies for the manas's decisions. The mind consciousness is the manas's supervisor, able to draw and control the manas. The mind consciousness is the manas's servant, deferential to the manas; even if unhappy inside, it must obey on the surface. The mind consciousness is the manas's instigator, often inciting the manas to do things it should not do. The mind consciousness is the manas's teacher, at times deliberating in accordance with the Dharma, guiding the manas out of the pitfalls and mires of habitual tendencies.
As long as something is not especially habitual and familiar to the manas, the manas is willing to seek the mind consciousness's help and hear its opinions and views; as long as nothing especially urgent or critical is involved, the manas will let the mind consciousness offer strategies; as long as the manas's bottom line is not touched, not provoking or angering the manas, the manas will allow the mind consciousness to express opinions; as long as something is not of special interest to the manas, not people and matters the manas especially clings to and cares about, not people and matters the manas especially craves or loathes, the manas is willing to let the mind consciousness do more thinking and analysis and submit the results to the manas for reference. Under the opposite circumstances, the manas cannot listen to the mind consciousness's views and takes its own judgment as the standard, deciding alone and quickly by itself.
When the manas is in extreme craving-love or extreme hatred, it will not listen to the mind consciousness's advice and will act willfully on its own; when the mind consciousness cannot articulate or explain the reasoning clearly, the manas will go its own way; when the reasons the mind consciousness gives are insufficient, the manas will also go its own way without changing in the slightest. When the mind consciousness can directly perceive the pros and cons and gains and losses of a matter through direct perception, can explain the reasoning with sufficient evidence, and can present conclusive facts to the manas, the manas will change its mind and decision. The key to the mind consciousness changing the manas lies in being able to reveal the truth of the facts and hold conclusive evidence, as well as accurately analyze the benefits and harms, gains and losses; then the manas can only obediently comply, thereby reversing its habitual tendencies.
The mind consciousness's weight is of course very heavy. Through reasoning in accordance with the Dharma, or through the lure of benefits, the mind consciousness can lead the manas by the nose, pulling the manas onto the right path, letting the manas gain wisdom, sever afflictions and habitual tendencies, break through all ignorance, and ultimately achieve the transformation of consciousness into wisdom. For the mind consciousness to reverse the manas, it must frequently cultivate correct Buddhist teachings, apply attention (manaskāra) with reasoning in accordance with the Dharma, and deliberate in minute detail; ideally it should directly perceive all dharmas with conclusive evidence. Then it will have the ability to guide the manas, letting the manas follow the mind consciousness's guidance, rational deliberation, and direct perception. For the mind consciousness to reverse the manas's decision, it must contemplate the harmfulness of that decision to oneself; the more thoroughly it contemplates, the closer to the facts, the more it can influence and change the manas. If the mind consciousness's contemplation is unclear and not thorough, the facts are unclear, there is no evidence to prove it, and it is not direct perception, the manas cannot be persuaded and will still go its own way.
29. The psychology of veneration and all kinds of psychology are expressed through the mind consciousness and jointly created by the six consciousnesses. For any idea of the manas to be expressed and realized, there must be usable tools and media; without media, the manas can do nothing.
Using media such as the mind consciousness, the five consciousnesses, and the sense faculties, the manas can create all dharmas and express all emotions, states of mind, ideas, plans, wishes, and so on. Without these media, it can accomplish nothing. In fact, the manas makes use of the eighth consciousness as much as possible without even knowing it itself; the eighth consciousness even less knows it is being used—and even if it knew, it would not mind, being great of heart. If, through studying and practicing Buddhism, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses become as great of heart as the eighth consciousness, then the practice has reached its end and no further cultivation is needed. If the mind consciousness cannot express things clearly, and the manas has no patience, it will choose not to speak.
30. Karmic actions are mainly the mental activities of the manas
Are dharmas created in the absence of the mind consciousness still karmic actions, and do they have retribution? They are still karmic actions and have retribution; moreover, being actions based on karma, they belong even more to karmic actions. For example, the manas enters the womb together with the tathāgatagarbha without the mind consciousness's participation, yet this karmic action is enormously significant—the greatest and most crucial of all karmic actions, a decisive one that determines a sentient being's direction of birth and death, and is one link in the twelve-linked chain of dependent arising of birth and death. Because the manas has ignorance, it necessarily produces karmic actions of birth and death and necessarily enters the womb, following along with birth and death. If the manas going with the tathāgatagarbha into the womb were not a karmic action, then there would be no karmic actions at all in the three-realm world.
The manas, together with the tathāgatagarbha, goes to the land of bliss (sukhāvatī) to create the lotus flower, without the mind consciousness's participation; this karmic action is also extremely great, an absolutely wholesome karmic action, determining the sentient being's postmortem destination toward the land of bliss, far from the bonds of birth and death in the five turbidities and evil world, so that in the future, under Amitābha Buddha's care, one can see the mind and see its nature, and then fly off to the worlds of the ten directions to broadly benefit sentient beings.
The manas, together with the tathāgatagarbha, disturbing others, blessing others together, entering others' dreams together, alerting others together, and, in the absence of the mind consciousness, turning over and crushing a newborn to death, and so on—all of these are karmic actions, some wholesome, some unwholesome, some neither wholesome nor unwholesome, and all have retribution. As long as there is mind and action, it is karma and has retribution. In the middle of the night, asleep without the mind consciousness, one turns over and crushes a newborn to death—this is unintentional, an indeterminate (avyākṛta) karma, and also has retribution. The immediate retribution is the great pain of losing the child; the retribution in later lives may also be being unintentionally crushed to death. This is a bitter fruit, not a neither-painful-nor-pleasurable retribution; the retribution summoned by indeterminate karma is not necessarily a neither-painful-nor-pleasurable retribution. "Unintentional" means without the mind consciousness, but there is the manas; the manas also did not do it deliberately, having no such intent. But as long as there is action, there is karma and retribution.
Karma is mainly the karma of the manas, corresponding to the manas, the process of the manas's mental activities and creation. The manas's mental creation sometimes requires the cooperation of the six consciousnesses; sometimes the six consciousnesses cannot cooperate, so no six consciousnesses participate in the creation—but these are all karmic actions and all have retribution. If the manas does not want to create karma, no karmic action appears, and the six consciousnesses will not arise to create karma. Therefore, the manas is the master of karma-creation, the lord of retribution; this is so for both wholesome and unwholesome karma.
31. Which is the recipient of retribution, the manas or the mind consciousness?
Some say that since the manas does not feel pleasure and pain, it is not the recipient of retribution and does not receive retribution. In fact, the manas is precisely the recipient of retribution; the six consciousnesses are merely the manas's tools and agents for receiving retribution. Because even when there are no six consciousnesses, sentient beings are still within retribution. Whether or not the six consciousnesses exist, as long as the sentient being exists, that itself is a form of retribution; moreover, the physical body is the retributive body. It is the manas that takes the physical body as self, and therefore the manas has a retributive body; the retribution falls upon the manas, making the manas receive it.
First, the matter of entering the womb, dwelling in the womb, and emerging from the womb is itself the manas's karmic retribution. Entering the womb is the manas's affair. What kind of physical body and living environment one has is what the manas cares about most, so retribution is what the manas cares about most. Dwelling in the womb and emerging from the womb, as well as the living conditions throughout a lifetime, are also what the manas cares about most; whether one enjoys blessings or suffers hardship in a lifetime is what the manas cares about most—therefore the manas is the recipient of retribution. Second, death and one's postmortem destination are even more what the manas attends to. At the time of death, the manas struggles, not wanting to die; even when gravely ill and in unbearable pain, it does not decide to leave the physical body, refuses to breathe its last and abandon the body, unwilling to leave family and relatives; even after becoming a vegetative case, it is unwilling to depart and exchange for another physical body, still craving the faint activities of the five aggregates and continuing to endure painful retribution.
The manas takes the suffering of the five-aggregate body as its own suffering, the suffering of the six consciousnesses as its own suffering, the pleasure of the five-aggregate body and six consciousnesses as its own pleasure, and the feelings of the five-aggregate body and six consciousnesses as its own feelings. But when there are no six consciousnesses, the manas still must endure all painful and pleasurable feelings and all retribution. For example, the pleasurable feeling of the formless absorption and the formless heaven is received by the manas alone; the pleasurable feeling of the cessation absorption (nirodha-samāpatti) is received by the manas alone—without the mind consciousness, the mind consciousness does not receive it. The painful feelings of entering the womb and dwelling in the womb must be received by the manas alone, with no mind consciousness to receive them; the painful feelings at the time of death and unconsciousness must be received by the manas alone—without the mind consciousness, the mind consciousness does not receive them. Whether one sleeps soundly or restlessly, comfortably or uncomfortably, it is all received by the manas alone; even if any accident occurs during sleep, such as being burned to death, it is all endured by the manas alone—without the mind consciousness, the mind consciousness does not receive it.
Even when the mind consciousness is present, any feeling of the mind consciousness is intimately connected with the manas; everything the mind consciousness endures is as if the manas endured it, for the manas greatly cares about the mind consciousness's feelings. Because the mind consciousness is a self of the manas, possessed by the manas, the manas's assistant and prop; retributing the mind consciousness is the same as retributing the manas. The manas absolutely does not want the mind consciousness to receive painful retribution—not even slight suffering. It is like parents being the heads of a household: whatever joys and sorrows the children encounter, the parents share them; when others come to reward or retaliate against the parents, they do so indirectly through rewarding or retaliating against the children—retributing the children is the same as retributing the parents; the children's honor or disgrace, life or death, is intimately connected with the parents.
The manas is the faculty from which the mind consciousness arises; the mind consciousness is born with the manas as its condition. The manas is like the mind consciousness's parents; the mind consciousness receiving retribution is equivalent to the manas receiving retribution. Therefore, when the five aggregates suffer, the manas wants to avoid it; when the five aggregates experience pleasure, the manas craves and clings without letting go. In short, the manas is the recipient of retribution, the true master of retribution.
32. The manas is the faculty of the mind consciousness
"Faculty" (indriya) means that upon which something relies and depends, like a great tree growing from its roots. A child depends on the father to come into being but is directly born from the mother. The eye consciousness arises depending on the eye faculty; the six consciousnesses arise depending on the six faculties; the mind consciousness exists depending on the manas. But the six consciousnesses are directly born by the tathāgatagarbha; the six faculties are merely the fundamental condition for the six consciousnesses' arising.
In all matters one must trace to the root, find the root, and resolve the source; only then can the problem be thoroughly solved. If we want to solve the problem of birth-and-death transmigration since beginningless kalpas, solve the problem of ignorance, solve the problem of defiled karmic seeds, we must trace to the root and source; we cannot apply effort only on the branches and leaves—cutting off the branches and leaves, they will grow again. To prevent the branches and leaves from growing, cutting off the root can thoroughly solve the problem. The manas is the root of the mind consciousness; the manas determines the mind consciousness and determines the direction of the six consciousnesses. Only by solving the problem of the manas can the problem of the six consciousnesses be solved. Although solving the manas's problem requires the mind consciousness to go first and assist, ultimately it must be implemented on the manas.
Countless people cannot figure out the relationship between the manas and the mind consciousness; they all think the mind consciousness is the ultimate dharma and make efforts on the mind consciousness. But when the mind consciousness's problem is solved while the manas's is not, the manas will still determine the mind consciousness's cultivation and actions—the weeds grow out again, which amounts to the problem not being solved.
33. Question: I have a very heavy habitual tendency of doubt, and the force of this doubting thought is very great. When the mind lacks the strength to think, I tell myself to just observe this thought, do nothing, and let the manas slowly deliberate (manasikāra) on its own—there will eventually be a result. What is going on here?
Answer: The mind consciousness can introspect its own thoughts and ideas. After observing them, it has a certain degree of understanding of them and can analyze and deliberate on the rightness or wrongness of its own doubt. As for what the final result is and how to deal with and handle it, that is the manas's affair. The mind consciousness will transmit what it has cognized to the manas and no longer interfere with the manas's thinking; the manas will then slowly and quietly deliberate, and finally can think through its doubt clearly, knowing whether the doubting thought is right or wrong and how to handle it, thereby removing the doubt.
34. Why is the mind consciousness's power sometimes greater than the manas's
Because the mind consciousness has strong powers of analysis and deliberation and relatively high wisdom, it can observe clearly the ins and outs of a matter. The manas cannot observe carefully and does not know how to analyze, so it must listen to the advice of its advisor, the mind consciousness; at many times the manas also cannot make up its mind and has no choice but to follow the mind consciousness's arrangements. If it were not so—if the manas, lacking wisdom, did not listen to the mind consciousness's analysis, deliberation, and persuasion—the manas would forever decide according to its own habitual tendencies, would never understand principles, would never embark on the path of studying and practicing Buddhism, would never sever afflictions, and could never become a Buddha. In a family, the head of the household decides, but at times must also listen to the children's opinions and satisfy their requests. It is the same in a country: the president must also heed public opinion. Therefore, at times the mind consciousness's power appears greater than the manas's, and the manas must follow the mind consciousness's guidance and suggestions to get things done well.
35. The master-servant relationship between the manas and the mind consciousness
All dharmas are what the manas, this master, needs; the six consciousnesses exist to serve the master, the manas, and must obey the master's commands—though of course the master at times must also listen to the servants' opinions and suggestions. For example, if the manas wants to drink water, after the tathāgatagarbha cognizes this, it will give rise to the six consciousnesses to carry out the act of drinking water. The mind consciousness is responsible for considering how to drink the water and what the whole procedure and steps are, then together with the body consciousness and eye consciousness takes the cup and pours the water; whatever kind of water the manas wants to drink, the mind consciousness prepares that kind of water; whenever the manas wants to drink, the mind consciousness arranges to drink at that time; finally the six consciousnesses together drink the water, completing the task of drinking water—or rather, it should be said that the seven consciousnesses, even eight consciousnesses, together completed the work of drinking water.
If the manas does not want to drink water, the six consciousnesses will not arise to carry out the act of drinking water. The mind consciousness is never as important as the manas. The mind consciousness is a dharma generated anytime and anywhere according to the manas's needs, decided by the manas; it occupies a subordinate position, serving the manas, and must serve the manas well. If the mind consciousness cannot serve the manas well, the manas becomes unhappy and uncomfortable, may even throw a tantrum—becoming depressed and gloomy, or mentally abnormal. If the mind consciousness seriously defies the manas over a long period, the manas will develop problems—possibly mental derangement or schizophrenia, perhaps going mad.
If the manas wants to hear sounds, the six consciousnesses must be generated to discriminate the sounds; wherever the manas points, the six consciousnesses must go to do the work. But in the course of the work, the mind consciousness can offer suggestions to the manas as circumstances allow, and can also make requests; if the manas approves, they can be carried out. The six consciousnesses must all obey the manas's instructions. If the manas has ideas regarding the six sense objects, the six consciousnesses must come out to realize the manas's ideas; if the manas has no ideas and does not want to create anything, the six consciousnesses will not appear. The manas, this master, has great power; at many times the six consciousnesses are unknowingly dispatched by the manas, running here and there, blindly doing many things without knowing why. Whatever the manas wants the six consciousnesses to do, the six consciousnesses must do.
If, in our realization of the Dharma, we do not apply effort on the manas but only on the mind consciousness, then once the effort is spent, the mind consciousness ceases, and it is of no use. If we want to realize the fruits but realize them only on the mind consciousness, once realized they cease, and it is also of no use; in future lives we will still transmigrate in birth and death, still covered by ignorance. Breaking ignorance only on the mind consciousness is useless; the manas's ignorance is the fundamental ignorance, because the problem of birth and death lies in the manas's ignorance, and the root of the twelve links of dependent origination is the manas's ignorance. So our initial effort on the mind consciousness is to influence and permeate the manas; the mind consciousness is like a megaphone, a tool for conveying messages, and can also help the manas analyze and think, ultimately getting the manas to confirm, thereby changing the manas—this is the most fundamental and ultimate purpose of studying and practicing Buddhism.
Once the manas is changed, the mind consciousness's work of permeation is finished; thereafter the manas can lead the mind consciousness to create entirely wholesome karma. The mind consciousness occupies a subordinate position, being the advisor and messenger; the manas can use it most of the time and may also not use it in rare cases—when not used, the mind consciousness is nothing at all. For example, if we want to ask a leader for help with a matter, first we must have the secretary clarify and understand the matter; the secretary is like the mind consciousness. The secretary then reports clearly to the leader; only when the leader understands what is going on can he decide to help us, and the matter is done.
The mind consciousness is like a gatekeeper: to go in and see the leader, we must pass through this gatekeeper. But if we stay at the gatekeeper's post and cannot get past the gatekeeper's checkpoint, we will never see the leader. From ancient times to the present, how many people have circled around on the mind consciousness without ever finding the entrance. We always want to attain enlightenment, but by guarding the mind consciousness and circling outside, not entering the manas and letting the manas cultivate and realize, we cannot attain enlightenment. If the gatekeeper allows us to see the leader but the leader says no, then we cannot see the leader and solve the problem; whatever the gatekeeper says is useless—only with the leader's permission can we go in and get the matter resolved. Therefore, no matter how good the Buddhadharma is, it must be cultivated, realized, and confirmed by the manas; the manas must realize the non-self of the five aggregates and realize the tathāgatagarbha. After the manas realizes this, it leads the six consciousnesses to walk the walk and perform wholesome karma, obtaining wholesome fruits.
36. Are the functions of the five-aggregate body led mainly by the manas or by the mind consciousness?
The "covering" (āvaraṇa) in the aggregate of consciousness means obscuring and covering. Not only can the six consciousnesses obscure the true functions of the eighth consciousness, the seventh consciousness can also obscure the eighth consciousness's functions. The key is: whom does it obscure, and whose recognition of the true master's functions is blocked? The functions of the six consciousnesses obscure the functions of the eighth consciousness, making the manas feel that the six consciousnesses' functions are so real that it cannot see that they are all functions of the eighth consciousness, causing the manas to generate illusion; thus it grasps the feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness of the six consciousnesses as self, and as real.
But does the manas also grasp its own grasping nature, master nature, seizing nature, and clinging nature as self, as real? The key lies in whether the manas has the ability to introspect itself, whether it can observe its own functions. The Buddha said that all eight consciousnesses have self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana) and all have the ability of introspection—only the magnitude of the ability differs; it is merely a question of whether the mind consciousness can discover these powers of introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala). Why must it be the mind consciousness that discovers them? Because the mind consciousness is employed by the manas and the five-aggregate body; the mind consciousness can handle the affairs of the five-aggregate body well, while the manas hides behind, able only to direct and operate covertly, with the mind consciousness operating and executing in the open. If the mind consciousness does not understand the situation, it cannot help the manas handle affairs.
The manas's power of introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala) is possessed by all sentient beings; it is only that when the mind consciousness lacks great wisdom and has not transformed consciousness into wisdom, it cannot observe it. Although the manas knows all dharmas, it relies on the mind consciousness to observe them; if the mind consciousness cannot observe, then it is unknown—and the manas's knowing, unknown to the mind consciousness, seems to be of no use. After the manas knows, to get things done it must rely on the mind consciousness; if the mind consciousness does not know, nothing can be done.
Many people can only observe the mind consciousness's own functioning, take the mind consciousness's functioning as primary, and regard the mind consciousness's functioning as their own true functioning, not regarding the manas's functioning as the most primary and important. Dharmas that the mind consciousness does not understand or observe, many people refuse to acknowledge as existing and resolutely reject. Almost everyone takes the mind consciousness's knowing as knowing; if the mind consciousness does not know, they consider themselves not to know; and if they themselves do not know, they say it does not exist. This is the thinking logic of the vast majority of people, and this logic is wrong. If sentient beings lack great wisdom, they cannot recognize any of their errors, let alone correct them. Since sentient beings cannot recognize their own errors and ignorance, and do not know they are within extremely many pitfalls, there is no way to climb out of the pitfalls; there is forever fog before their eyes, and they can see nothing clearly—this is ignorance. The heavier the ignorance, the harder it is to have the wisdom to see the facts clearly, and the harder it is to attain liberation.
The manas also has the introspective ability of self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana) and can observe its own functions, regardless of whether the mind consciousness can observe this and regardless of whether the mind consciousness acknowledges it. Moreover, the manas takes these functions of its own as real and grasps them, not knowing they are all functions of the eighth consciousness. Only after truly seeing the mind and attaining enlightenment does the manas suddenly awaken—oh, it was not like this. Therefore, eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa), seeing the mind and seeing the nature, realizing any fruit, and understanding any fact—all are realized and understood by the manas and the mind consciousness together. This is extremely important.
37. On what basis can the mind consciousness condition on the aggregates, bases, and realms?
The reason the mind consciousness can condition on the aggregates, bases, and realms is that the manas conditions first and then decides what to cognize; only then can the mind consciousness condition on the aggregates, bases, and realms. If the manas cannot condition on the various characteristics of the aggregates, bases, and realms, the mind consciousness cannot condition on them. How does the mind consciousness arise? When the manas contacts the mental sense-object and wants to do something, the eighth consciousness then gives birth to the mind consciousness to carry it out; if after contacting the mental sense-object the manas does not want to do anything, the eighth consciousness will not give birth to the mind consciousness to act. So if the mind consciousness conditions on the characteristics of the aggregates, bases, and realms, it must be because the manas first conditioned on those characteristics—there is no such thing as the manas not conditioning on the characteristics of the aggregates, bases, and realms!
At all times, the manas, moment by moment, must rely on the eighth consciousness to condition on the characteristics of the aggregates, bases, and realms, and cannot be separated from them for even an instant—even when asleep without dreams, even when unconscious, even in the formless absorption, even at death while still not having left the physical body, even in the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava)—the manas must always be together with the aggregates, bases, and realms, must always condition on them, unless there are no aggregates, bases, and realms, no five aggregates.
If there is a dharma the manas does not condition on, the mind consciousness cannot condition on it. On any dharma where there is no manas, there cannot possibly be the existence of the mind consciousness in the first place, let alone the mind consciousness being able to condition on it. "Consciousness arises from the condition of the manas and dharmas"—this is the Venerable One's authoritative teaching (āgama), the Venerable One's holy words, spoken from His own mouth; how could it be violated? "The manas silently encompasses all dharmas"—this was spoken personally by the Venerable One in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra; how could it be violated?
38. To whom do the mental activities that the mind consciousness exhibits at the instigation of the manas belong?
When the mind consciousness's expression is autonomous and voluntary, its mental activities belong to the mental activities of the manas that controls it. When the manas is instigated by a powerful mind consciousness and exhibits mental activities, these likewise do not belong to the manas but belong to the mind consciousness's mental activities; although the manas decided, it was forced—it did not decide of its own accord. For example, when parents instigate a small child to steal things, the child, being too young, having no self-determination and unable to defy them, has no choice but to comply with the parents; then the act of stealing reflects the parents' greedy nature, and the stolen things belong to the parents and are at the parents' disposal. Similarly, when a master instigates a dog to fetch the neighbor's things, it is the master who has the mind to steal; the dog has no mind to steal, because the dog has no autonomy and must obey the master; the stolen things belong to the master, not to the dog. If the dog steals things on its own, not instigated by the master, the things belong to the dog—the dog itself has the mind to steal.
For example, when a person takes a knife to chop firewood, it is the person who chops the wood, not the knife; although the knife personally chopped the wood, the knife has no mind to chop wood, and the wood belongs to the master, not to the knife. Likewise, when a driver drives a car and hits someone, it is the driver who hit the person, not the car; the driver must compensate the other party's losses; the car cannot compensate. For example, a master orders a servant to carry water or to craft gold vessels, giving payment only when the task is completed; the water carried and the gold vessels crafted by the servant all belong to the master; this work was done by the servant on the master's behalf, and the master should bear the responsibility.
The servant supports the master, so of course the master must give the servant payment; the manas supports the mind consciousness, so of course it must give the mind consciousness some ideas; but the ultimate merits, faults, rights, and wrongs are still borne by the master, the manas. The causes and effects of the five aggregates, life after life, must still be borne by the manas. The mind consciousness plops down its body and walks away, and the results are all handled and borne by the manas. Ascending to heaven or descending into the hells—the manas leads the eighth consciousness there; becoming a Buddha or a patriarch—the manas leads the eighth consciousness, and also leads the five aggregates and six consciousnesses, the whole family big and small, to become a Buddha or a patriarch.
39. Dharmas the mind consciousness cannot observe do not thereby not exist
The manas's deliberation (manasikāra) differs somewhat from the mind consciousness's analysis. The mind consciousness's analysis is relatively fine with clear lines of thought; the manas cannot be meticulous and precise—it can only know the general outline, consider the rough picture, and know the coarse situation. If there is a dharma the manas cannot contact, the six consciousnesses even less can contact and cognize it. The manas can see all dharmas; all dharmas are the manas's object-aspect (nimitta). The mind consciousness can see all of the five aggregates and eighteen realms; the manas can see them even more—therefore the five aggregates and eighteen realms are the manas's object-aspect (nimitta).
If the manas has various feelings, can the mind consciousness observe them? For example, a mute eating goldthread—feeling the bitterness but unable to say it—can others know he feels it is bitter? Bitterness is experienced by one's own mind; others can only guess. If they do not even know the mute ate goldthread, they are not even entitled to guess. If the person eating the goldthread has lost his sense of taste, he will not feel the bitterness, and others' guess that he feels it bitter is a wrong guess. When the mind consciousness lacks wisdom, its guesses about the manas's mental activities and the manas's feelings will often also be wrong.
All of the manas's actions must be expressed through the mind consciousness before the mind consciousness or others can know them. If the manas cannot express itself through the mind consciousness, can we conclude that the manas has no such psychology and mental activities? Dharmas that the mind consciousness does not know and cannot observe—can they represent that those dharmas do not exist? Obviously not. Worldly people cannot observe the tathāgatagarbha and say the tathāgatagarbha does not exist and is not real—this is not truthful speech. Likewise, when the mind consciousness cannot observe the manas's psychological state and passes a definitive judgment on the manas, that is equally inappropriate. Bhūmi-attaining bodhisattvas before the bhūmis, without the teaching of bodhisattvas who have realization, cannot directly perceive the manas's psychological state, so passing a definitive judgment on the manas is inappropriate—especially for those who have not yet attained enlightenment. Only after the obstruction of afflictions is severed and the mind consciousness and manas have transformed consciousness into wisdom can the mind consciousness have the wisdom to gradually directly perceive the manas's operations and psychological state—but even then it may not observe very much or very accurately.
40. The current practice task of worldly people is to strive to attain realization as soon as possible
When the mind consciousness is absent, whether or not the manas can introspect itself—without the mind consciousness, how could the mind consciousness know it? Take two people, A and B: whether A can introspect himself—when B is not present, how can it be judged? If B's eyes are obstructed, even facing A directly, how can B observe and judge A's mental activities? The mind consciousness of ordinary sentient beings is like B with obstructed eyes, unable to directly perceive and judge whether the manas has a certain mental activity. So I advise ordinary sentient beings to just quietly cultivate, preparing for realization; do not pass definitive judgments on the manas, do not pass definitive judgments on the dharma of Consciousness-Only karmic-seed wisdom—this is far, far beyond one's own actual contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of direct perception.
How do we know the manas is applying effort, investigating, and deliberating? When you feel there is always a huatou in your mind, a questioning doubt or misgiving, that is the manas thinking and investigating; when your attention is always on the huatou, when there is always a question in the mind, though without obvious thinking, analysis, and consideration, yet those doubting thoughts cannot be shaken off no matter what—that is the manas investigating.
41. The master-servant relationship between the manas and the mind consciousness
If the manas wants to drink water, the six consciousnesses will come out to boil water, pour water, brew tea, and then drink it; if the manas does not want to drink water, the six consciousnesses will not come out to do all this. The mind consciousness is never as important as the manas and can never be the master, because the mind consciousness is a generated dharma whose arising or not is decided by the manas; it occupies a subordinate position, serving the manas, and moreover must serve the manas well. If it does not serve well, the manas becomes uncomfortable and may throw a tantrum. When the manas truly throws a tantrum, the mind consciousness at times feels baffled. The mind consciousness is more rational than the manas; the manas's emotionalism is more severe than the mind consciousness's. If the manas wants to hear a certain sound, the mind consciousness must obey the manas's command and come to discriminate that sound. If the manas wants the six consciousnesses to appear, they appear immediately; if the manas does not want the six consciousnesses to appear, they will not appear; whatever the manas wants the six consciousnesses to do, the six consciousnesses must do.
If, in Buddhist study and realization, we do not apply effort on the manas but only on the mind consciousness, breaking ignorance only on the mind consciousness is useless—once the effort is spent, the mind consciousness ceases. If the fruits are realized only on the mind consciousness, once realized they cease, and the manas remains covered by ignorance; we will continue to transmigrate in birth and death. Because the problem of birth and death lies in the manas, and the key of the twelve links of dependent origination lies in the manas, cultivating the mind consciousness is ultimately for the purpose of influencing and changing the manas. The mind consciousness is like a megaphone, advisor, and assistant, helping the manas make up its mind and devise strategies, ultimately reversing the manas's ignorance and changing the manas. Once the manas is changed, the mind consciousness no longer needs to permeate the manas, and the two together create wholesome dharmas.
The mind consciousness occupies a subordinate position; the manas can use it or not use it—when not used, the mind consciousness is nothing at all. From ancient times to the present, how many people have circled around on the mind consciousness without ever finding the entrance. We always want enlightenment, but without cultivating to the manas, enlightenment cannot occur. No matter how good the Buddhadharma is, it must be acknowledged by the manas. Once the manas acknowledges it, it will have some restraint and will selectively let the six consciousnesses create karmic actions, no longer wanting to do meaningless things. If the manas feels everything is meaningless, the six consciousnesses will not only create less but will not even arise; finally the manas itself will also cease and enter nirvāṇa.
