The Clinging of Manas to the Body

Question: When a person accidentally loses a finger, if it is reattached in time due to the attachment of the manas, it can regain its function. However, it is somewhat difficult to understand how an organ or part of the body can still exhibit distinct signs of life (such as twitching, pulsating, etc.) after separating from the main body. Through what means does the manas keep that organ or body part active? How do the manas and the tathāgatagarbha control a detached organ or severed flesh without the physical sense faculties? Can the tathāgatagarbha directly output seeds to the detached organ through the manas? Or is this pulsation merely an unconscious neurological reaction?

Answer: A recently detached organ, like an organ still attached to the body, is maintained by both the manas and the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha provides the four elemental seeds to meet the needs of the body faculty. Once the manas deems the detached organ useless and abandons it, the tathāgatagarbha ceases to output the four elemental seeds, and those organs lose their vital energy.

When the four elemental seeds continuously generate and disintegrate on an organ, the organ exhibits the characteristics of the four elements: the motility of wind, the solidity of earth, the moistening quality of water, and the warmth of fire. The particles composed of seeds continuously undergo arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing, driving the particles to constantly move and transform, thereby generating various forms of energy, such as kinetic energy, thermal energy, potential energy, and so on.

The reason recently detached flesh moves is that the nerve tissues still retain their conductive function; the function has not necrotized, and both the manas and the tathāgatagarbha are maintaining it. The more attached the manas is, the longer the flesh will move. There are cases where an animal has been dead for a long time, its body dismembered into pieces and sold, yet the flesh still moves. This animal is extremely attached to its body; it is aware of who bought its flesh and will certainly seek revenge in the future. When sentient beings encounter each other, some relationships involve repaying kindness or debts, while others involve cycles of retribution. These relationships are exceptionally complex; there is no one without an adversary.