Who Clings in the Five Aggregates of Clinging?

The five aggregates subject to grasping (pañca-upādāna-skandha) are necessarily grasped by the manas. Because the manas exists life after life without perishing, and is also the master consciousness that has regarded itself as the master of all dharmas since beginningless kalpas, it must grasp and cling to all dharmas, and only then can all dharmas exist without perishing; if the manas no longer grasps, all dharmas will certainly not manifest, and the self must vanish. Because the manas grasps the aggregate of form, the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception, the aggregate of volitional formations, and the aggregate of consciousness, the five aggregates arise and cease, cease and arise again, being born endlessly, never cut off, never disappearing. Why is this so? Because the tathāgatagarbha forever accords with and cooperates with the manas, knowing the mental activities and wishes of the manas; when the manas grasps and clings, the tathāgatagarbha will manifest [phenomena], and the five aggregates will not vanish and perish. Of course, karmic seeds and karmic conditions are also required; if the manas no longer grasps, the karmic seeds will be extinguished, the karmic conditions will not arise, all dharmas will not manifest, and the five aggregates will disappear.

The manas grasps the aggregate of form, clinging to marks and seizing and craving the physical body, so it delights in a life of fine clothes and exquisite food, craving enjoyment in eating, clothing, dwelling, and daily use, and painstakingly maintains and cares for the physical body.

The manas grasps the aggregate of feeling, craving sensations and clinging to feelings. For example, when drinking tea, if one finds the tea delicious, one reaches out to take the cup and pour tea, cup after cup, slowly savoring its flavor until fully satisfied. Who directs the conscious mind to crave the tea's flavor and the sensations in this way? It is the manas that directs and leads this. Because the manas clings to the tea's lingering flavor and clings to feelings, it does not hesitate to waste precious time savoring tea; some people even crave the taste of alcohol, indulging their addiction without caring about harming the body. Another example: when sitting in meditation and feeling comfortable in body and mind, the body does not want to move, the mind becomes lazy, and one does not like to think about problems. This is because the manas does not want to move; craving the comfortable feelings, it does not let the body get up and be active. Because meditative concentration is comfortable, the manas grasps the feelings of sitting in meditation, not wanting to move or to emerge from concentration. The manas unknowingly grasps and craves many feelings without knowing it itself, because it is very difficult for the manas to introspect on its own craving for these feelings. Only when the mind consciousness, through studying the Dharma, awakens and continuously hints at and restrains the manas can the manas be subdued, no longer craving and clinging to feelings; then one can attain liberation and not be bound by feelings.

The manas grasps the aggregate of perception: there is nothing in the world, great or small, that it does not want to know; it pays attention to all news, domestic and foreign; it is interested in everything about others, whether related to oneself or not, and wants to know everything, whether or not one should know it. Both ears hear all the affairs of the world, both eyes behold all the scenery of the world, and the mind is filled with people and events of the past, future, and present. Because the manas grasps the aggregate of perception, it watches television and reads newspapers every day, collecting all kinds of information and materials—all of these are the manas grasping the aggregate of perception and directing the six consciousnesses to create [karma].

The manas grasps the aggregate of volitional formations: throughout the day it creates without stop, unwilling to rest for a while and quietly abide for a moment. When there is something to the east, it goes east; when there is something to the west, it goes west; wherever there is something happening, there it shows itself, with bodily, verbal, and mental actions never ceasing. With the manas grasping the aggregate of volitional formations like this, how can there be meditative concentration?

The manas grasps the aggregate of consciousness: eyes watching in six directions, ears listening in eight directions, the mind's thoughts churning, initial application and sustained examination (vitarka-vicāra) unceasing, fantasies of past and future floating endlessly, unwilling to let the mind become quiet and idle. Because the manas clings to the conscious nature of the six consciousnesses, unwilling to let the six consciousnesses cease, seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing continue without interruption. If the manas is pure and does not want useless activity, the six consciousnesses will become tranquil.