The Innate Great Wisdom of the Manas

The difference in wisdom between the seventh and sixth consciousnesses is simply that the manas cannot, like the mind consciousness, make detailed and specific discriminations of the six sense objects—that is all. Otherwise, the wisdom of the manas is quite remarkable. Much of the time, when we deal with worldly affairs—especially extremely urgent matters, extremely chaotic matters—we rely entirely on the manas's experience and wisdom, while the mind consciousness is unable to cope, unable to analyze or resolve things in time, and can only follow the manas's direction and arrangements. Sometimes this can be called going along with conditions; sometimes it can be called leaving things to fate; yet in the end everything gets resolved, and sometimes quite satisfactorily and to one's heart's content.

The manas has His own unique great wisdom. For instance, fearlessness in the face of danger, composure and poise, orderliness and method, meticulousness, lofty aspirations and heroic spirit, a broad-minded and humble bearing, and so on and so forth—all of these are the wisdom of the manas, and quite extraordinary. Especially for those who have been human for many lifetimes, who have served as leaders and generals, as officials and ministers, those with rich experience—the wisdom of their manas is very powerful. They mostly rely on the wisdom of the manas to decide how to handle and respond to everything, while the mind consciousness is often without intention or thought.

When a great general commands on the battlefield, the urgent decisions and major strategies in combat are often made by relying on the manas's wordless wisdom and strategic acumen; the mind consciousness often cannot exert any force. People with merit, with their own convictions, with strategic insight, when encountering situations, are often very calm and unhurried, not rushing to respond or to make decisions; when the time comes, ideas and solutions automatically emerge. This is relying on the manas—the manas has His own methods. Having a backbone also relies on the manas. What worldly people call "having a stubborn old pig's head" means the manas has His own convictions, and the mind consciousness need not concern itself.

People of great wisdom, the sagacious, the rational, the cultivated, still rely primarily on the wisdom of the manas. The mind consciousness need not employ cunning, scheming, and stratagems, for the manas has His own arrangements. This great wisdom is the result of the manas's deliberation (manana), and also the result of the manas's seasoned experience. For a talented person, cultivating them on the spot is too late—that is to say, having the person's mind consciousness learn now and then perfuming the manas is already too late. The person must have possessed the required qualities beforehand, endowed innately—that is, possessed by the manas, wisdom that was successfully perfumed long ago, innate and inborn.

What is called the faculty of wisdom, what is called the faculty of goodness, what is called merit—all of these refer to what the manas possesses, what is innate and inborn.