The Universal Apprehending Nature of the Mental Faculty意

When asleep, a loud "bang" sound occurs, and manas gives rise to the six consciousnesses, causing one to wake up. So when there is no loud sound, do the six consciousnesses arise? For example, when we sit in meditation to cultivate concentration, the consciousness intends to settle down and does not wish to perceive other sounds. Yet, due to the habitual function of manas, it cannot cease; sounds still arise in the ears, and consciousness still perceives them, preventing the mind from becoming empty. In a state of wakefulness and mental calmness, no matter how subtle the sounds in the ears may be—such as the faintest heartbeat, the sound of breathing, the buzzing of mosquitoes, or distant sounds about to fade away—consciousness perceives them all.

This is because manas universally perceives all dharmas; there is no dharma that manas does not perceive. Subtle, coarse, significant, or insignificant—manas perceives them all. Even if consciousness does not want these dharmas and dislikes them, manas still manifests them, and consciousness cannot prevent it. This is the universal nature of manas, the habitual function of manas. Manas universally perceives all dharmas. Sometimes it is due to desire, sometimes due to vows and willpower, sometimes due to habits, and other times because the external state is too overwhelming—manas cannot resist the temptation and inevitably gives rise to adherence, leading to perception. After manas perceives the dharma, it brings consciousness to the forefront, enabling it to discern the six dusts and perceive the characteristics of the state.

So, is the function of manas itself to perceive the characteristics of a state inferior? In fact, it is not inferior. When disasters or calamities are about to occur, the conscious mind knows nothing, yet manas knows—it decides to relocate to avoid the disaster or displays panicked behavior, all indicating that manas knows what is about to happen. Sometimes, manas knows what will occur and wants consciousness to know, so it creates dreams, allowing consciousness to discern in dreams or in meditative concentration. Is manas not astute? Prior to this, did the conscious mind know these things? Without manas being alert, consciousness fundamentally does not know.

Manas knows these impending events entirely through its solitary reliance on the tathāgatagarbha; the six consciousnesses have no part in it. Consciousness knows nothing and must be informed by manas through dreams to learn what is about to happen. During meditation, manas can even return to past lives, manifesting past-life events for consciousness—such as who owed you how much money in a past life, even down to a few cents, along with numerous important and unimportant matters—allowing consciousness to discern them. Is there any participation of the conscious mind here? No. Manas alone relies on the tathāgatagarbha for this knowledge. When manas operates alone, it is exceedingly astute and does not need to depend on the six consciousnesses.

The dharmas of manas are extremely subtle. Our mind must be exceptionally refined, our meditative concentration exceptionally profound, our wisdom exceptionally sharp, and our direct experiential insight exceptionally clear to gradually uncover these subtle dharmas bit by bit. Lacking meditative concentration and wisdom, one can only engage in superficial observation on a coarse level. Some people's minds are very coarse; even when observing on a coarse level, they cannot do so effectively, let alone perceive the subtle dharmas.