The Intimate Relationship Between Consciousness and Manas

Consciousness, being a phenomenon arising from causes and conditions, lacks autonomy. It cannot by itself maintain a state free from thoughts, nor can it independently generate mental activities. All its functions are governed and directed by the manas (the sovereign consciousness). Consciousness arises from the conjunction of the manas and mental objects (dharmas), and from the contact between the sensory faculty and its objects. However, even when the manas comes into contact with mental objects, if the manas makes no decision whatsoever, consciousness still will not arise, much less engage in any activity. Therefore, any discussion about how consciousness functions that disregards the sovereign consciousness or the root of consciousness is sheer nonsense, unreliable, and ultimately incorrect. Such discussions often lead to numerous errors without the speaker even realizing it. The crux of the problem lies in insufficient meditative concentration (samadhi) and the lack of direct experiential observation (pratyakṣa-pramāṇa). Without the ability to deeply penetrate and observe the relationship between the manas and consciousness, or to profoundly investigate the hidden mechanisms and primary causes behind the operation of consciousness, one forgets the non-autonomous nature of consciousness and overlooks the sovereign agent behind it. Hence, no one should be overly confident when expounding or discussing the Dharma. Blind confidence is arrogance.