Behind the Surface Phenomena of the Six Consciousnesses Lies the Deep Psychology of Manas

Question: In summer, after falling asleep with the air conditioner on, I sometimes dream of walking in a snowy wilderness, feeling so cold that I shiver all over. From the perspective of Consciousness-Only, what is happening here?

Answer: In the middle of the night, when one is asleep and the body feels very cold, without the six consciousnesses to perceive the cold, the problem of coldness cannot be resolved. The mental faculty (意根) knows the body is cold but cannot handle the situation—it cannot cover oneself with a blanket or turn off the air conditioner. Therefore, it creates a dream about the body suffering from cold, causing the consciousness to feel the body is freezing, shivering violently in the icy wilderness. If the consciousness is more alert, it will wake up. Upon waking, one realizes the body is indeed cold, then investigates why it is cold, discovers the air conditioner is on, turns it off, covers oneself with a blanket, and goes back to sleep. If the consciousness is less vigilant, it will continue to endure the cold until waking at dawn, or even catch a cold.

This incident proves that the mental faculty can perceive many dharmas (phenomena), but without the assistance of the six consciousnesses, it is powerless and unable to operate the activities of the five aggregates (五阴). The six consciousnesses serve the mental faculty, act on its behalf, and fulfill its needs. Dreams are all conceived by the mental faculty. The mental faculty's mental activities manifest in many aspects: in dreams, in the actions and creations of body, speech, and mind, in various mental activities, in emotions, in the body's subconscious reactions, and in the body's involuntary responses. It is the mental faculty, together with the Tathagatagarbha (如来藏), that controls and regulates the physical body and the five aggregates. As soon as the mental faculty has an intention, the body moves, and the five aggregates begin to operate.

Ordinary people observe only the superficial phenomena of the six consciousnesses or mistakenly attribute the mental activities of the mental faculty to the consciousness. They cannot clearly distinguish between the mental activities of the mental faculty and those of the consciousness. When the consciousness disappears or becomes weak and powerless, the mental faculty strongly desires the five aggregates to function, wishing for them to operate normally. However, if the six consciousnesses do not arise or are too weak to activate the five aggregates, the mental faculty experiences a sense of anxious helplessness that ordinary people cannot perceive. Even if they are aware of it, they misunderstand it as the anxiety and helplessness of the consciousness. Their thoughts and understanding remain confined to the level of consciousness, always following the lead of consciousness, unable to delve deeper into the profound psychological layers of the mental faculty behind the consciousness.