All Spiritual Practices Include the Cultivation of Manas

Question: The realization of fruition in both Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism necessarily involves the simultaneous transformation of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. If only the mental consciousness comprehends the principle while the manas remains untransformed, it can at most be considered an achievement of contemplative wisdom, not genuine realization. However, in Hinayana scriptures such as the Sutra on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the various methods of contemplative practice taught by the World-Honored One are clearly cultivated by the mental consciousness, with no mention of the mental faculty (manas). How, then, does the mental faculty transform to become uncontaminated (anāsrava) upon realizing the fruition?

Answer: Although the World-Honored One did not explicitly state during his teachings that the mental faculty must participate in contemplative practice, all cultivation inherently includes the cultivation of the mental faculty. However, when practitioners lack meditative concentration (dhyāna), their practice remains confined to the level of the mental consciousness. When meditative concentration is attained, the practice will inevitably extend to the mental faculty. Even if one does not understand the mental faculty or its intrinsic nature, the practice will naturally permeate it. This is analogous to how all sentient beings use visual consciousness without necessarily being aware of its existence.

When the World-Honored One taught the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, as long as sentient beings earnestly practiced according to these instructions, meditative concentration would arise. Once meditative concentration is present, contemplative practice extends to the mental faculty. The mental faculty then engages in contemplation and realization alongside the mental consciousness, subsequently transforming one's body, mind, and world, abiding in the samādhi of the purified Dharma-eye (dharmacakṣus). If one does not practice earnestly according to the World-Honored One’s teachings but instead harbors a mindset of seeking shortcuts, meditative concentration will certainly not arise. The mental faculty will remain unrefined, fail to engage in contemplation, and thus realization will not occur—the samādhi state of the purified Dharma-eye will not manifest.