Why Is the Mind Consciousness Sometimes More Powerful Than the Manas

The mind consciousness, because of its strong capacity for thinking and analysis, can reason things out; the manas does not understand reason, so it must follow the reasoning presented by the mind consciousness. In many cases, the manas also cannot make up its mind, and so it must follow the arrangements of the mind consciousness. If it were not so—if the manas always acted as the sovereign according to its own habitual tendencies and refused to listen to the mind consciousness—then the manas would never come to understand principle, would never set out on the path of studying and cultivating Buddhism, and would never be able to eliminate afflictions or attain buddhahood. In a family, the head of the household makes the decisions, but at times he must also listen to his children's opinions and satisfy their requests. The same is true for a nation: even the president must heed the will of the people.