What Does It Mean That Manas Does Not Correspond to Language and Words?

The meaning that manas does not correspond to words and language is that manas cannot use words and language to express its thoughts, concepts, and insights. However, manas is not ignorant of words and language. As the sovereign consciousness that oversees everything, it has the authority to direct and mobilize the six consciousnesses. Although it cannot speak or express itself through writing, it can make the mental consciousness speak and use words to express itself. Many tasks it cannot accomplish can be completed with the assistance of the six consciousnesses. For example, a president has limited energy and cannot be in multiple places at once; he can only manage the overall situation of the country and cannot handle specific tasks such as market research, statistical analysis, etc. However, he can appoint subordinates to complete these tasks. Because manas must oversee everything, it cannot personally handle specific matters and can only use the five-sense consciousness and the independent consciousness to deal with specific trivial affairs. Manas only needs to listen to reports. During the process of listening to reports, it uses the mental factors of contemplation, wisdom, and decisive understanding to make judgments and decisions, then issues commands for the six consciousnesses to solve problems according to its instructions.

Manas is like a dumb person: although unable to speak, it can understand human speech. The eighth consciousness is the same: although it cannot speak and is not versed in language and words, it has a unique way of discerning, perceiving unique information different from that of the seven consciousnesses. Manas is also different from mental consciousness. The contemplation of manas is not inferior to that of mental consciousness. If a president were to set aside time and energy to specifically engage in market research, he might perform better than his subordinates—it is merely a matter of lacking the time and energy. If manas were to replace the six consciousnesses, it might surpass them; it is only that its current energy is insufficient. That is why it is necessary to cultivate concentration repeatedly—to free up time and energy for manas, to focus, focus, and focus again, so that the great wisdom of manas can emerge.

By regarding manas as a consciousness, or as a person, one can understand the nature of manas and its mental factors. The mental consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses work on behalf of manas. If manas possesses sufficient wisdom, no matter what the six consciousnesses do, manas can understand everything clearly. If manas lacks sufficient wisdom and its power of decisive understanding is weak, there may be misunderstandings, or it may fail to comprehend the actions of the six consciousnesses, remaining unclear about what they are doing. If the mental consciousness cannot express itself or expresses itself unclearly, manas will also be unable to fully understand and will not grasp the thoughts of the mental consciousness.