眾生無邊誓願度
煩惱無盡誓願斷
法門無量誓願學
佛道無上誓願成

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18 Sep 2018    Tuesday     1st Teach Total 832

How to Harness the Function of Manas to Unlock Greater Wisdom (Part 1)

Some scientific research suggests that our brain scans the external environment five times per second, which refers to the function of the manas (the mental faculty). However, the actual frequency is not that slow; the instrument's measurement is inaccurate. The manas constantly, moment by moment, clings to the objects of the six dusts (sensory fields). The so-called "clinging" is the conditioned reflex mentioned in that research report, which is this scanning. Conditioned reflexes belong to karma, seeds, habitual reactions, neural mechanisms, and other factors; they are the reactions generated by the manas. All dharmas (phenomena) contacted by the manas are manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature). Whatever the Tathāgatagarbha manifests, the manas can cling to. The manas is extremely agile, and its clinging nature is vast. What the manas clings to is not necessarily all known by the conscious mind (mano-vijñāna); the conscious mind remains unaware of much content.

The scope of what the conscious mind knows is not as extensive as that known by the manas. The range the manas clings to is quite broad. Consider aspects like karma: the Tathāgatagarbha manifests them for you. Neural system aspects, various other aspects, bodily matters, physiological matters – the Tathāgatagarbha manifests them all for you. After manifestation, the manas clings to them first. After the manas clings, sometimes it directly generates a reaction. Why does it react directly? One reason is the critical nature of the matter, and another is due to its habitual tendencies. Especially concerning matters related to the body and oneself, its habitual function can manifest very rapidly, leaving no time for the conscious mind to initiate the function of thinking.

That research allows us to have a deeper understanding of the essential nature of the conscious mind and the manas, and a deeper realization that all manifested appearances (nimitta) are objects clung to by the manas. The scope comprehended by the conscious mind is still somewhat smaller than that of the manas. When will it be able to comprehend more? When the conscious mind attains the wisdom of subtle observation (pratyavekṣaṇā-jñāna), after cultivating to the stage of a higher Bodhisattva, the scope of its comprehension will become close to that of the manas. After attaining Buddhahood, the scope and content comprehended by both may become almost identical. Then, the dharmas the manas can cling to, the sixth consciousness (mano-vijñāna) will also be able to cling to. All dharmas manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha, the conscious mind with the wisdom of subtle observation, will also be able to comprehend.

That research indicates that when a person's mind becomes calm and quiet, spiritual insight manifests. What does this mean? When the mind becomes calm and quiet, the conscious mind becomes deeper, subtler, and more refined. This means the conscious mind ceases its coarse functions of thinking and analysis. However, does the conscious mind still exist? Here, the conscious mind still exists, though it is deeper, harder to detect, and its introspective power is somewhat weaker. Because the conscious mind has become clarified, without coarse discrimination, the information transmitted to the manas is relatively reduced, and the content transmitted is deeper and subtler. Consequently, the manas also becomes tranquil at this time.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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