The Manifestation of the Keen Nature of the Manas

Why can the manas take measures in emergency situations, thereby averting danger and turning peril into safety? How does the manas know that the situation encountered is dangerous and could endanger one's own life? How does the manas discern and judge that an accident is about to occur?

First, it must be explained that here the mind consciousness absolutely has no time to carefully analyze the danger of the situation, nor how to evade it or what measures to take. Moreover, in most cases, only after the event has passed and the risk is over does the mind consciousness know what actually just happened, only then realizing how perilous it just was—and then, instead of thanking God, one thanks some kind of deity, never knowing that what one should thank most is the manas. So what should we thank the manas for?

Since beginningless kalpas, the manas has experienced countless events. What benefits oneself and what harms oneself, what can endanger one's life—the manas knows all of this. He also, together with the eighth consciousness, conditions upon the physical body life after life, and understands the general condition of the physical body—which parts are important and can involve the life faculty; the manas knows all of this. Therefore, at critical junctures, the manas often does not wait for the mind consciousness's analysis and judgment, but handles all kinds of urgent and major unexpected events on His own, preventing accidents from occurring and safeguarding the safety of life.

When various unexpected events occur, if the manas insisted on waiting for the mind consciousness's analysis, deliberation, reasoning, and judgment before deliberating (manana) on how to resolve and handle the matter, it would already be too late, and perhaps one's life could hardly be preserved. Therefore, we should thank the manas for His nimbleness, thank the manas for His precious experience accumulated over beginningless kalpas, thank the manas for His decisive wit that brooks no delay, and thank the manas for that automated wisdom of evading danger. So we should no longer say that the manas is always so dull and so stupid; when He is quick-witted, we are far from being His match.