Is Manas of the Nature of Avyākṛta?

Neutrality refers to a mental nature that is neither good nor evil, belonging to a non-virtuous and non-nonvirtuous quality. Because manas is the sovereign consciousness, governing the physical, verbal, and mental actions of sentient beings, if manas lacks virtuous nature, the physical, verbal, and mental actions of sentient beings cannot be virtuous, there would be no virtuous people in the world, the heavenly realms would not exist, sentient beings practicing Buddhism could not become virtuous, and Buddhist practice would be useless. If manas lacks nonvirtuous nature, it would not direct the six consciousnesses to commit physical, verbal, and mental nonvirtuous actions, there would be no evil people in the world, and the three evil destinies would not exist in the world. In reality, this is not the case; the cycle of rebirth in the six realms occurs precisely because manas has virtuous and nonvirtuous mental actions, prompting the six consciousnesses to create virtuous and nonvirtuous actions, which is why there are virtuous and evil people in the world, and sentient beings transmigrate through birth and death in virtuous and evil destinies.

If manas were neither virtuous nor nonvirtuous, then manas would have neither afflictive mental factors nor the eleven wholesome mental factors. Consequently, sentient beings would inherently lack afflictions, and Buddhist practice would not require the elimination of afflictions; sentient beings would inherently lack virtue, and Buddhist practice could not make them virtuous, let alone lead them to Buddhahood. If manas lacked virtuous and nonvirtuous nature and were neutral, then the virtuous people in the world would all have transformed from neutral individuals into virtuous ones, and the evil people in the world would all have transformed from neutral individuals into evil ones. There would be no inherently virtuous or evil people; all would have become so through the later influence of consciousness being conditioned by virtuous or nonvirtuous dharmas. However, this is impossible.

Moreover, such virtuous people would be falsely virtuous due to consciousness being virtuous, and such evil people would be falsely evil due to consciousness being evil; there would be no truly virtuous or evil people. If consciousness, no matter how influenced by virtuous or nonvirtuous environments to become virtuous or nonvirtuous, could not cause manas to be similarly influenced and become virtuous or nonvirtuous, then there would be no virtuous or evil people. This is because manas would not correspond to virtuous or nonvirtuous mental factors; it would be neutral and forever remain neutral. Consequently, sentient beings, no matter how they practiced, could not attain Buddhahood, could not accumulate seeds of virtuous or nonvirtuous karma, and could not undergo birth-and-death transmigration within the six realms.

In that case, manas would not be the sovereign consciousness. The activities of the five aggregates would not be determined by manas; manas and consciousness would each act independently, and the five aggregates would be in chaos. Manas, as sovereign, would create a neutral karma, while consciousness, as sovereign, would create virtuous or nonvirtuous karma. If manas wanted to go east, but consciousness wanted to go west, where would the physical body ultimately go? If consciousness wanted to practice Buddhism, but manas did not, how would the pentad of aggregates act? Would it split in two? Schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder are caused precisely by severe inconsistency and lack of coordination between consciousness and manas, resulting in a deadlock where neither side yields. Manas would suffer immensely, almost to the point of collapse. If consciousness and manas each had their own karmic seeds, there would be two sets of karmic results: consciousness going to heaven and manas falling into hell. Ultimately, would the pentad of aggregates go to heaven or fall into hell? Therefore, it is said that manas possesses virtuous and nonvirtuous nature, possesses virtuous and nonvirtuous mental factors; it is not merely neutral.