The Relationship Between Thought-Free Awareness and Manas

The spirit is agile and lively, while "departing from thoughts" refers to temporarily leaving behind mental thoughts and ideas. Such awareness involves both consciousness and the mind root (manas). For consciousness to depart from thoughts is relatively easier to achieve, whereas for the mind root to do so is more difficult, yet not impossible. Why can consciousness depart from thoughts? Firstly, consciousness itself lacks the desire to discriminate objects and has no matters weighing on it. Secondly, the mind root has no coarse thoughts or ideas, no desires or notions, and does not cling to dust-like phenomena (sense objects). Only then will it not mobilize consciousness to think, ponder, imagine, or fabricate.

As for those extremely subtle thoughts of the mind root, they manifest in bodily, verbal, and mental actions without the participation of consciousness, and consciousness is also incapable of detecting or participating in them. At this time, the mind root is in a slightly purified state, which is the state of samadhi (meditative concentration), a state free from desire and seeking. Therefore, when consciousness is in a state of departing from thoughts, it necessarily occurs while the mind root is purified and abiding in samadhi, regardless of the depth or duration of that samadhi.

Actually, subtle thoughts still exist at this time; how could there be awareness without any thought at all? It is simply that when one is extremely familiar with the object, one knows without needing to exert effort in discrimination. At this point, mental activity is extremely faint, and this is called "awareness beyond thoughts" (li nian ling zhi). The term "awareness beyond thoughts" does not originate from the Buddhist sutras; the sutras do not specifically describe this. It is a concept proposed by later practitioners based on their own understanding and is not entirely precise. Observing and discerning this requires profound cultivation in Yogacara (Consciousness-Only) philosophy and keen powers of observation.

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