The Wisdom of Manas and the Thought of Manas

The manas itself has no characteristics of language or sound and does not engage in thinking through language. When mental activity occurs, there is no accompanying sound. Therefore, the mental processes and operational characteristics of manas are hidden and difficult to discern, making them challenging to capture. When meditative concentration is insufficient and the mind lacks subtlety, observation becomes exceedingly difficult, inevitably leading to misunderstandings about manas.

Mano-vijñāna is sometimes wise and sometimes unwise; similarly, manas is sometimes wise and sometimes unwise. When mano-vijñāna functions skillfully, it can assist manas in discernment and decision-making. However, if manas itself possesses wisdom, it does not require the assistance of mano-vijñāna's wisdom, or at least does not need mano-vijñāna to assist in thinking and analysis—merely aiding in discernment is sufficient. As long as manas discerns the coarse and subtle aspects of phenomena, it immediately knows how to respond and engage with them. This is the case when manas itself possesses wisdom. When manas lacks wisdom, however, it requires mano-vijñāna not only to assist in discernment but also to support thinking, analysis, reasoning, and judgment. Manas then deliberates based on mano-vijñāna's judgment to form its own decision, which may not align with mano-vijñāna's judgment, potentially resulting in choices that exceed mano-vijñāna's expectations.

When mano-vijñāna introspects its own mind, this is the self-witnessing portion (svasaṃvedana). If what mano-vijñāna observes is the mental activity of manas, this constitutes the self-cognizing portion (saṃvedana). However, when mano-vijñāna lacks wisdom, it may fail to distinguish whether mental activities belong to itself or to manas, instead attributing all such activities to itself. Hence, many people question: "How could this clearly be the function of mano-vijñāna be attributed to manas?" In reality, this occurs because their own mano-vijñāna lacks the wisdom to discern the differences and boundaries between mano-vijñāna and manas, and because they lack the wisdom of discerning the path (mārga-jñāna). Distinguishing the functions of mano-vijñāna and manas is indeed profoundly difficult.