Wisdom of the Mind Consciousness and the Manas: A Mutual Rise and Fall

During a student's learning stage, because it is a stage of absorbing knowledge and theory, the mind consciousness is used the most. After learning is complete, one enters the stage of practice, where theory is applied to actual operations and everything depends on the individual exercising genuine talent and real skill; at this stage, the manas is used the most. If the manas is not used well, one will be mocked as a bookworm and pedant—having learning but no ability, no genuine substance, with nothing learned put to any use. 

When students work on geometry problems, they clearly use the mind consciousness to calculate and deduce, because there are results and answers; they only need to reason toward the answer. A few students with good meditative concentration can use a bit of the manas's deliberation (manasikāra), but not much. When a problem has no answer, the manas's deliberation may be used more, and arriving at the correct conclusion may reveal a certain genuine wisdom in the student, though it cannot be ruled out that the component of mind-consciousness reasoning is greater. In the process of calculating and reasoning through geometry problems, there are certain principles and rules to follow; the more one relies on them, the greater the mind consciousness's function, the smaller the manas's function, and the shallower the wisdom.

By the same token, in the process of contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and investigation, the more hints others give, the more the mind consciousness is used, the less the manas is used, and the shallower the wisdom. If one relies entirely on hints from others—delivered by word of mouth and entering through the ear—it is all the function of the mind consciousness; the manas exerts no effort at all, and thus the manas has no wisdom whatsoever, and one will not attain the beneficial fruition of liberation in this or future lives. Whereas when, without any hints at all, one investigates and realizes it entirely on one's own, what is brought forth is the best, and the wisdom is the deepest. Conversely, the greater the help others give, the smaller one's own capacity; if one solves the problem without any help, all the wisdom is one's own. A pratyekabuddha investigates the twelve links of dependent origination alone in the mountains; the wisdom before and after realizing the Dharma cannot be matched by an arhat, let alone by ordinary beings. Arhats have the Buddha and the Buddha's teachings to rely on, so the wisdom they develop is limited, not as deep and subtle as the pratyekabuddha's wisdom. The more one relies on external conditions, the less the manas is used, and the poorer one's capacity and wisdom. Some people, in learning the Dharma, always pray for all kinds of help, not knowing that the greater the help received, the less wisdom is developed and the smaller the benefit. When encountering problems, only by being able to apply effort oneself and use one's own brain does one gain the greatest wisdom. Those who always love to ask about the Dharma have relatively shallow wisdom, insufficient self-reliance, and no ability to solve problems independently. Some people always want to seek others' help to awaken to the Path—but if awakening comes through help, whose awakening does it ultimately belong to? Whose wisdom is it? In the Buddha's Dharma, as well as in worldly matters, wisdom belongs to whoever relies on their own power; relying on others is not as good as relying on oneself.