The Wisdom of Consciousness and the Wisdom of Manas

The wisdom of the mental faculty (manas) is divided into two kinds.

The first is the wisdom uniquely inherent in consciousness, which arises from being permeated through habitual influence by immeasurable dharmas since beginningless kalpas. It is innate, requiring no subsequent conditioning or learning, and far surpasses the wisdom of the ordinary mind-consciousness (mano-vijñāna), being immensely more powerful. The wisdom of the ordinary consciousness cannot compare to it. Therefore, without relying on the ordinary consciousness's mental activities—such as pondering, analyzing, investigating, comparing, or imagining regarding objects—it alone can swiftly, imperceptibly, and inconceivably evaluate and judge objects both within and beyond the six dusts (sense objects). It rapidly makes decisions, allowing no room for the ordinary consciousness to contemplate, investigate, debate, or resist.

The other kind of wisdom of the mental faculty is the discerning wisdom regarding the specific content of objects. This wisdom is much weaker and inferior compared to that of the ordinary consciousness. Therefore, it must rely on the meticulous discernment of the ordinary consciousness to make judgments and decisions. The mental faculty alone cannot accomplish such detailed discrimination. Because the objects perceived by the mental faculty are extremely broad and extensive, it cannot focus all or most of its attention to discern them meticulously. It can only perceive the general appearance of objects, making simple evaluations and judgments, and cannot discern them in minute detail. At such times, without relying on the discernment of the ordinary consciousness, it becomes incapable of making decisions. Generally, when it is said that the mental faculty's discerning wisdom is inferior, it primarily refers to this meaning.

These two kinds of wisdom must be strictly distinguished and not blurred or confused. Otherwise, it is impossible to correctly and accurately understand the nature, function, and role of the mental faculty, and one cannot enhance one's wisdom and progress on the path. If the mental faculty's wisdom were inferior in all dharmas and at all times, then at critical junctures, in life-or-death emergencies, in the face of major rights and wrongs, or when evidence is insufficient, how would sentient beings know where to turn? Would they not invariably fail to make decisive judgments, inevitably meet with misfortune, encounter disasters without turning them into blessings, and die prematurely without attaining a natural end?