Manas: The Core of Yogācāra Practice and Realization

In the cultivation and realization of Consciousness-Only, the manas (mental faculty) is the core. Because the tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature) does not require any instruction to suddenly change, one can only focus effort on the manas. Transforming the manas transforms an individual, elevating them from an ordinary being to a Buddha on the resultant ground. Only by transforming the manas can all dharmas be transformed.  

All ignorance (avidyā) resides within the manas. Dispelling the ignorance of the manas leads to Buddhahood; transforming the manas transforms the seeds (bīja). Transforming the seeds results in Buddhahood. The ignorance of the mental consciousness (mano-vijñāna) all originates from the manas. The mental consciousness and its ignorance depend on the manas. The mental consciousness and its ignorance are relatively easy to eradicate; it is fundamentally not a difficult matter. The true challenge lies in the manas. Therefore, the mental factors (caitta) associated with the manas cannot be significantly fewer than those of the mental consciousness; they should be nearly comparable. With severely insufficient meditative concentration (dhyāna-bala) and observational power, one cannot realize the manas, much less observe the operation of its mental factors or its functional state in any dharma. Without knowing or realizing this, one rashly dares to deny the various mental activities of the manas, mistakenly attributing them solely to the mental consciousness.

If the manas does not realize the dharma, it cannot dispel ignorance. Merely dispelling the ignorance of the mental consciousness is useless and changes nothing. It is now evident that any effort focused solely on the mental consciousness is futile. The cultivation and realization of all dharmas must reach and engage the manas to resolve the fundamental problem. Once this line of thinking is clearly understood and comprehended, there should be nothing more to say regarding the cultivation and realization of the Buddha Dharma.