The Relationship between Spontaneous Operation and Vitarka-Vicāra

"Acting spontaneously" (任运) refers to the mind-consciousness operating automatically and self-awareness in accordance with nature and in accordance with conditions, without any artificial interference that would obstruct it and cause it to stall. Among the eight consciousnesses, only the eighth consciousness and the manas are mind-consciousnesses that operate spontaneously; the six consciousnesses are not. The six consciousnesses are restricted by the manas, and there are many occasions when they cannot operate; therefore the six consciousnesses are not consciousnesses that turn spontaneously.

Vitarka and vicāra (initial application and sustained examination) are the activities of the mind consciousness, either alone or together with the five sense consciousnesses, such as searching, deliberating, thinking, investigating, and studying, in order to resolve doubts or some problem in the manas's mind. Therefore the vitarka and vicāra of the mind consciousness or of the six consciousnesses are directly directed by the manas: if the manas tells them to go east to search and examine, they go east to search and examine; if it tells them to go west to search and examine, they go west to search and examine. In advance, the mind consciousness can offer suggestions for the manas to consider and decide upon. Although the manas cannot by itself carry out the activities of a five-aggregate body, the manas has runners and helper soldiers who can do many things on His behalf, so the manas makes use of them. A leader with many affairs to attend to cannot personally do the specific tasks, and so must arrange for subordinates to do them—this is only natural and right. The six consciousnesses completing the manas's instructions as required is also their unavoidable duty; that is precisely their responsibility.

The eighth consciousness has no activity of vitarka and vicāra, nor any mental activity of vitarka and vicāra, because the eighth consciousness is a mind that is unconditioned (asaṃskṛta) and does not make decisions; everything is unrelated to Him, so there is no need to search for or examine anything. In the course of the manas's operation with respect to all dharmas, because of ignorance and its extensive clinging (upādāna), its cognition of everything is very coarse, and there are often things it cannot understand. Even relying on the six consciousnesses, there are still many dharmas it does not understand. In order to understand them, it must give rise to a mind of vitarka and vicāra to investigate, and it needs the six consciousnesses to complete the task of investigation. Therefore the manas, which turns spontaneously, is precisely the initiator, supervisor, and commander of the vitarka and vicāra activities of the six consciousnesses, and the results are enjoyed by the manas.