The Realization of Manas Gives Birth to Wisdom

Regarding the wisdom power of the manas, all the wisdom of consciousness must ultimately settle upon the manas to be considered successful, to form seeds, to be useful in future lives, and finally for the wisdom power of the manas to exert all functions. For the manas to realize the fruits of enlightenment, from the first fruit to the fourth fruit, or to achieve enlightenment of the mind, from initial enlightenment to Buddhahood, it is all the function of the manas' wisdom. The result of the wisdom of consciousness is to endow the manas with wisdom, enabling the manas to transform consciousness into wisdom, to be fully endowed with great wisdom, and ultimately to attain Buddhahood.

The distinction between the wisdom of consciousness and the wisdom of the manas lies in the fact that consciousness possesses the function of logical thinking, analysis, and reasoning, enabling it to engage in relatively abstract thought. The manas, however, cannot engage in abstract thought; it must be concrete, involving plots, images—the more direct the perception, the better; the more realistic, the better. The manas has great difficulty with analytical thinking and finds it hard to perform logical reasoning or judgment; in this aspect, it relies on consciousness. Other aspects of direct perception can be entirely self-reliant, although the assistance of consciousness is naturally the best and fastest way. Therefore, when there are images, graphics, or present circumstances and scenarios, the manas resonates more easily, memories in consciousness become more solid, and understanding is also very easy. This is the principle behind it. When the six sense faculties interpenetrate and function together, the manas replaces consciousness and also replaces the five sensory consciousnesses. The Śūraṅgama Sūtra's account of Mahākāśyapa's perfect and clear knowing, independent of mental thought, illustrates this principle.