What Is the Immediate Manifestation from One's Own Mind (manas)?

The Buddha taught that all dharmas are immediate manifestations from one's own mind (manas). The own mind is the true mind, the mind that never perishes. "Immediate manifestation" refers to things that actually exist, what can presently appear before us—not something fabricated by imagination, nor something arrived at by comparison. What is arrived at by comparison is called inference; what is imagined is called erroneous cognition/non-valid cognition. All dharmas arise from causes and conditions, and therefore are dharmas of causes and conditions. All phenomena within these dharmas of causes and conditions manifest upon the own mind; that is to say, all dharmas are manifested by the own mind and transformed by the own mind. Apart from the mind, there are no dharmas at all; apart from the mind, there are also no dharmas of causes and conditions.

Since dharmas of causes and conditions are immediate manifestations from one's own mind, generated by the own mind, they are not real dharmas. A dharma that is generated can cease; whatever is born must perish, and what is unborn does not perish. Dharmas generated by causes and conditions are all subject to arising and ceasing: when causes and conditions are complete, they arise; when causes and conditions disperse, they cease. Therefore they are illusory dharmas, not real dharmas. This is why the World-Honored One instructed us to abandon craving and attachment to these dharmas generated by causes and conditions. To crave and cling to these false dharmas is the cycle of birth and death, is suffering and distress. As for the true dharma, the World-Honored One never instructed us to depart from it, because it is fundamentally impossible to depart from; yet neither should we attach to Him—attachment to anything is wrong. The nature of the own mind has always been without attachment; it has never attached to anything. When the World-Honored One instructs us to accord with the own mind, there is then no birth, death, or affliction.