The Meditative Concentration of the Manas

Having entered the cessation of perception and feeling (saṃjñā-veditā-nirodha), the mind consciousness has ceased, but the manas is still operating. Is this meditative concentration the manas's concentration or the mind consciousness's concentration? At this time the manas is still turning, and there are still the mental factors of attention (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), and volition (cetanā). As long as the volition mental factor is operating, states of realm will appear. If the manas does not attend, does not contact, and does not deliberate, the material body will collapse and enter nirvāṇa. So when the manas is in the cessation of perception and feeling, it is still turning. But the concentration at this time—one hundred percent, ten thousand times over—must be the manas's concentration, not the mind consciousness's concentration, because the mind consciousness has vanished. If a consciousness that has vanished could still have concentration, then after falling asleep there should also be concentration.

When the six consciousnesses do not appear, and the manas's mental activity neither receives nor perceives—this is precisely concentration. With lessened operation, that is concentration. In the cessation attainment (nirodha-samāpatti) and the attainment of no-perception (asaṃjñā-samāpatti), the six consciousnesses are not manifest; then who is in concentration? It must all be the manas's concentration. In the attainment of no-perception and the cessation attainment, the six consciousnesses are gone, all six consciousnesses have ceased—so how could the six consciousnesses be concentrated while dwelling in the attainment of no-perception and the cessation attainment? Clearly this is impossible. If the six consciousnesses are absent, yet the six consciousnesses still have concentration—how could that be? When one is unconscious, the six consciousnesses are absent—is that entering concentration? Then should we all go unconscious, would that be good? When asleep, the six consciousnesses are absent—is that entering concentration? Then we might as well all just sleep, and no longer need to sit in meditation to enter concentration.

If the manas could be without concentration, its grasping nature would be just as before, able to manifest fully—could the six consciousnesses then quiet down? We sit quietly wanting to enter concentration and contemplate the Buddha-dharma, but the manas wants to listen to birdsong, wants to admire the scenery, wants to discern the people, events, objects, and principles of the past; the six consciousnesses will then discern in a scattered and disorderly way—how could one quietly contemplate the Buddha-dharma? Can the six consciousnesses enter concentration? That is impossible. Therefore it is said that all concentration is the concentration of the manas. Only by fixing the manas in concentration can the six consciousnesses quietly contemplate.

The manas is the turning consciousness, the leading head of all dharmas. If the manas is not fixed in concentration, all dharmas will appear unstoppably, and the six consciousnesses will be dragged along to discern and act everywhere—how could there be concentration? Concentration means concentrating the master, concentrating the commanding officer. What use is there in concentrating the servants or the soldiers? For example, if you want to stop a car and fix it in place, you can only fix the driver—press the brake. What use is there in fixing the co-driver sitting beside the driver? Can that stop the car? If you want to stop a thief from stealing, you can only fix and stop the thief; what use is there in stopping unrelated people? Since the manas is called the turning consciousness, and all dharmas are turned out by Him, then concentration must be the manas's concentration. The manas turns out the six consciousnesses; what use is there in concentrating the six consciousnesses without concentrating the manas? The six consciousnesses will still be turned out by the manas. In summary, concentration is the manas's concentration; the purpose of cultivating concentration is to concentrate the manas—only thus can there be concentration, and only then will all dharmas not manifest. If the manas can be held in check, all dharmas can be accomplished. If the manas cannot be held in check, there will be transmigration through the six realms. Therefore there is not a single dharma that is not the manas's.