The Discriminative Wisdom of Manas

Superficial cleverness and wit are the wisdom of the conscious mind, which is relatively shallow, giving a sense of frivolity and ostentation—lacking depth, solidity, and reliability, because it is not the wisdom of the manas. The wisdom of the manas manifests as depth, persistence, steadiness, reliability, and trustworthiness, imparting a sense of solidity. The manas is relatively deficient in the subtle discernment of the six sense-object realms; its discerning power is weak, possessing a nature of ignorance. It does not discern good from evil, right from wrong, superiority from inferiority, directions like east and west, or shapes like length and roundness; it cannot distinguish male from female. Without the guidance of consciousness, it constantly makes mistaken discriminations, mistaking east for west and this for that. However, the manas excels in general, holistic discernment, which is beyond the reach of consciousness, because the manas grasps the overall situation and complete picture of all dharmas. It can make swift judgments and decisions regarding major matters, directing the six consciousnesses to produce rapid emergency responses, thereby averting many disasters.

The discerning wisdom of the manas regarding the six sense-objects still exists; it merely lacks the concrete subtlety of conscious discernment. Due to their different scopes of responsibility, the manas handles overall planning and general wisdom; it cannot possibly attend to every minute detail exhaustively. The minor, subtle tasks are all completed by its subordinate six consciousnesses. The manas lacks the energy for such details; otherwise, it would be unable to grasp major matters.

The division of labor between the manas and consciousness can be illustrated with a concrete example. For instance, during sleep, if the quilt is kicked off and the body feels cold without its covering, the manas discerns this situation but cannot handle it itself. It dwells on this matter mentally. Then, the tathagatagarbha discerns the mental factor of deliberation within the manas and manifests a dream for the manas to resolve this issue. Consciousness then dreams of being in a cold environment, feeling chilly. The manas knows the body feels cold and thus decides to cover it with the quilt. At this moment, the manas cannot distinguish between the dream state and the waking state; it mistakes the dream realm for reality and makes the decision. Consciousness, likewise unaware of whether it is dreaming or awake, mistakes the dream for reality and obeys the manas's decision to cover the body with the quilt. However, the consciousness that can cover the quilt is no longer solitary consciousness but sense-field consciousness, meaning that body consciousness also arises to assist in covering the quilt. The manas's inability to distinguish between dream and waking states is a lack of wisdom, yet its ability to devise a solution is wisdom. Its ability to discern the body's unusual condition is also the discerning wisdom of the manas. The specific analysis and handling of the situation fall under the responsibility of consciousness. This is how the two cooperate and divide their labor.