Why Can Defiled Manas Only Give Rise to the Defiled First Six Consciousnesses?

Why can the defiled manas only give rise to the defiled first six consciousnesses?

According to the twelve links of dependent origination that perpetuate the cycle of birth and death, it is because when manas possesses ignorance, it gives rise to volitional formations tainted by ignorance conditioned by that ignorance. Conditioned by the volitional formations of manas' ignorance, the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses tainted by ignorance arise. These bodily, verbal, and mental actions are deposited into the ālaya-vijñāna, becoming seeds. The volitional formations of manas refer to its acts of choice. After manas makes a choice, the six consciousnesses arise to assist manas in its activities. Therefore, if manas is defiled and possesses ignorance, the six consciousnesses, as its assistants, must aid manas in performing defiled karmic actions. However, even if manas is defiled, when it is not choosing defiled actions, the mental consciousness (mano-vijñāna) may rely on its own purity to perfume the mind of manas. If manas permits the pure actions of the mental consciousness, then pure karmic actions will arise. Hence, spiritual practice involves cultivating wholesome dharmas and using these wholesome dharmas to perfume manas, thereby eradicating the ignorance of manas and transforming it. When the mind becomes pure, pure karmic results will be experienced in the future.