Why is Manas Called the Evolving Consciousness?

It is precisely because manas is extremely agile that it is called the mano-vijñāna. The meaning of mano-vijñāna is that dharmas which originally did not exist—dharmas within the tathāgatagarbha—are brought forth by manas due to its clinging nature. This is the function arising from mano-vijñāna. If manas possesses great wisdom and knows the true reality of the dharma realm, relying on the eighth consciousness and abiding in true reality, manas then understands that all dharmas are illusory. When the mind is still and unmoving, some dharmas of the three realms cease to manifest and are not brought forth. If manas does not bring them forth, the dharmas of the three realms do not appear. Manas brings forth the dharmas of the three realms and activates the six consciousnesses—this is what is meant by mano-vijñāna. It brings forth the dharmas of the three realms from the vast ocean of tathāgatagarbha—this is the intrinsic nature of mano-vijñāna.

When we are in meditative concentration, manas continues to operate. When asleep, the conscious mind ceases, yet manas still ceaselessly operates. Since manas can continuously operate and bring forth all dharmas, this demonstrates that manas is indeed extremely agile. Moreover, even when entering the nirodha-samāpatti (cessation of perception and feeling), the state of actual death, or a state of unconsciousness, it continues to operate without interruption. Therefore, it is called mano-vijñāna. Manas operates as mano-vijñāna both outside and within meditative concentration. It operates incessantly at all times—even when asleep, manas continues to function without cease. Even upon entering nirodha-samāpatti, it still operates, functioning every moment, every instant, without cessation for even a single moment. If manas were to cease operating, it would result in parinirvāṇa without residue.

This means that, due to the activity of manas, the conscious mind arises to cooperate in manifesting the objects of the six sense-fields and discerning them. Thus, the six consciousnesses capable of perceiving the objects of the six sense-fields come into existence, and the perceived objects of the six sense-fields are called the phenomena of objective realms. Consequently, both the mental state and objective phenomena fully manifest.