Is Innate Self-Grasping of Manas or Consciousness?

Does consciousness possess innate self-attachment? "Innate" means inherent from birth. When consciousness first emerges, it cannot distinguish directions and knows nothing at all. Naturally, it does not recognize the so-called "self," nor does it know parents or siblings. Therefore, it lacks self-attachment. All manifestations of an infant's consciousness are entirely taught and conditioned by the manas (mental faculty). Thus, it is the manas that possesses innate self-attachment, and the manas does not need to be reborn. The environment and parents cannot condition the infant immediately. Consciousness needs to be gradually taught to slowly comprehend all dharmas and phenomena, whether instructed by its own manas, by others, or conditioned by the environment. In any case, consciousness must learn everything one by one; nothing is innate, including self-awareness.

Consciousness is initially taught and conditioned by the manas. At birth, it is shaped by the manas and must be dominated by it, having no principles or opinions of its own. All manifestations of consciousness in the womb completely follow the manas without the slightest self-assertion. After birth, consciousness still entirely conforms to the will and habits of the manas, without the slightest self-assertion. Only later, after being conditioned by the environment and taught by others, does it gain some cognition and begin to develop a degree of self-assertion.

A child's innocence lies in the complete manifestation of their inner self (manas)—without falsehood, pretense, or concealment by consciousness. It is the direct and spontaneous expression of the manas. Consciousness does not control the manas nor disguise it. From children, one can directly observe the characteristics of the manas: children are innately greedy—that is the manas' greed; they are innately prone to anger—that is the manas' anger; they are innately ignorant—that is the manas' ignorance. If a child is innately exceptionally intelligent, that is the manas' wisdom; if they possess innate talents, that is the manas' ability. Whatever is innate and does not require deliberate postnatal learning belongs to the manas.

Some people possess exceptional wisdom in certain areas without postnatal learning; it is innate. This is the manas' wisdom, carried over from past lives. Child prodigies are like this. Wisdom acquired by consciousness through postnatal learning takes longer to develop and is not very rapid. If something is learned extremely quickly, it is still due to the conditioning by the manas, having been encountered in past lives, related to karmic seeds and the manas. The same applies to Buddhist practice: some progress by leaps and bounds, said to possess good roots and wisdom roots, with foundations from past lives. The manas brings conditioning from past lives into this life, enabling very rapid progress in Buddhist practice.

When we truly cannot distinguish between the manas and consciousness, we should consider: What is the state without consciousness? What is the state when consciousness is weak and minimally functional? What is the state when consciousness first emerges or is about to cease? All these situations entirely manifest the characteristics of the manas.