Why Does Understanding a Matter Require a Certain Amount of Time

After learning about something or studying a certain dharma, why does it take a period of time to digest it? What the mind consciousness knows needs to slowly permeate into the manas, so that the manas also comes to understand it, deliberate on it, comprehend it, and grasp it. If the manas has not yet understood, then it is not true understanding—the matter has not been digested and absorbed.

For any matter or dharma to be truly understood, digested, and absorbed, some time is needed for the manas to consider and comprehend it; this is called buffering. The better the meditative concentration and the more focused one is, the more easily the manas understands, and the faster the digestion and absorption. Therefore, when things in the world happen too suddenly and too abruptly, the manas has no psychological preparation and cannot quickly digest these matters, and the mind will feel shocked. After encountering such things many times, over a long period, the manas becomes psychologically prepared and will calmly accept them, no longer feeling shocked.

Due to a sudden accident, one may be scared out of one's wits—the deep fright reaches the manas, not merely the mind consciousness. Because of the manas's fright, He has no countermeasures at all and is at a loss as to what to do. In milder cases, one stands dumbfounded; in more severe cases, one becomes mentally deranged; the most severe reaction is being scared out of one's wits, to the point of being frightened to death, and after death it is also very difficult to be reborn normally.