How Can Practice Ensure That No Effort Is Made in Vain

Being able to concentrate fully on reading, contemplating, and working are all forms of meditative concentration (samādhi) of the mind consciousness. But if the manas has no interest in this and is not concentrated on reading and working, not focusing its mental engagement on the content of the book, can the mind consciousness still be concentrated? Absolutely impossible. If the manas is not concentrated, the six consciousnesses cannot hope to be concentrated; the six consciousnesses will inevitably be scattered and restless like monkeys. Even though the mind consciousness continuously focuses its mental engagement, it is of no use—it will still be dragged around everywhere by the manas. Therefore, subduing the manas is the crucial point of cultivation. Hearing, reflection, and cultivation-to-realization must all be implemented upon the manas; only then will all efforts not be made in vain, and there will surely be results and karmic retribution.