Whatever the manas is, that is what you yourself are

Coming into contact with and understanding the dharma of the manas has spared me so many detours, saved me so many kalpas of arduous cultivation, and averted so many eons of suffering. The entire logic of cultivation lies completely in the manas. Without understanding the manas, one cannot clearly comprehend in one's mind the dharma of becoming a Buddha or the path to Buddhahood. If one remains only at the level of the mind consciousness, always playing tricks with the mind consciousness, then when the mind consciousness ceases, what are you? Everyone should contemplate this point carefully. Only by properly regulating and repairing the manas—its original face—can one transform oneself, attain liberation, and allow karmic seeds to be transformed and purified; only then can one finally become a Buddha. Frequently ask yourself in your mind: when the mind consciousness ceases, what am I? In fact, whatever the manas is, that is exactly what you are.

When an emperor wants to establish a crown prince, he hopes the prince will build up the family and defend the nation. One son is healthy, while the other is often ill, with his survival uncertain. Which son would the emperor establish as crown prince? Only when the emperor has lost his mind would he establish the son whose survival is uncertain as crown prince, hoping that he would carry on the family line and protect the nation. It is the same for Buddhist practitioners: only muddled-headed people place all their hopes on the mind consciousness, thinking it is enough for the mind consciousness to attain the fruits of realization, or enough for the mind consciousness to awaken to the true mind and know the tathāgatagarbha. But after the mind consciousness ceases, is one not still just an ordinary being?

There are also some people who say: the manas does not need to eliminate self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi); it can directly eliminate self-grasping. Claiming that one can eliminate self-grasping without eliminating self-view is also a kind of invention—the key is whether such an invention actually works. Others say: without the manas awakening to the true mind and realizing the tathāgatagarbha, one can directly transform consciousness into wisdom and directly become a Buddha. This is an even greater invention—the key is what use such an invention has. If all these inventions could actually work, then studying Buddhism would be far too easy and could be accomplished in no time; one would only need to fiddle around with the mind consciousness, and one could become a Buddha merely by memorizing the Tripiṭaka and the twelve divisions of the scriptures. But what are the facts? Becoming a Buddha requires three great incalculable kalpas to eliminate all ignorance, until ignorance is completely severed—it is by no means easy.