True Wisdom Is the Wisdom of the Manas

From the phenomenon of blurting out answers immediately upon encountering a problem, one can observe the operation of the manas and its functions—that is, the mental factors (caittas) of the manas. What mental factors does the manas have, and what psychological functions cause one to blurt out an answer? If, after someone raises a question, a person answers right away without thinking, it shows that they understand the problem very well and are very familiar with it, having frequently engaged with it before, without needing to consider, ponder, or deliberate in the present moment. This "self" is the manas. A person with quick reactions has a manas that possesses experience and wisdom regarding such matters, without needing the help of the mind consciousness to analyze.

Conversely, if the manas is unfamiliar with something, or has never experienced it, and lacks the wisdom to discern it, then when encountering matters and problems it needs the help of the mind consciousness to deliberate and analyze, and only then does the manas make its own decision based on that. This process is slower; one cannot answer and resolve things immediately, because in between there is the process of deliberation by the mind consciousness. The manas then draws its conclusion based on the results of the mind consciousness's deliberation. This shows that the manas lacks sufficient wisdom and cannot independently deliberate, judge, and decide.

Wisdom, if obtained through the mind consciousness's present deliberation and analysis, gained by relying on the mind consciousness to gather information, can hardly be called wisdom at all.