Why Does the Manas Not Correspond to Language, Writing, and Sound?

Language, written words, and sounds—the operation of these dharmas cannot be separated from the body faculty and body consciousness; they are produced through the joint operation of body consciousness and mind consciousness, and are the functional activity of the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna). When language and sounds appear, it begins with the manas generating an intention, wanting to express its own ideas and thoughts. When the manas stirs a thought, brain waves fluctuate, and the intent is transmitted through the central nervous system to the system—or the area—corresponding to the body faculty. Then wind, or an airflow, arises at the dantian; this airflow surges upward, all the way to the tongue base, and a stream of sound emerges, thus forming language and sound.

Therefore, speaking requires energy; when energy is insufficient, the voice is weak, or no sound can be produced. Language and sound are produced through the joint, harmonious operation of mind consciousness and body consciousness, and require the cooperation of the body faculty; at that time the tongue belongs to part of the body faculty and does not perform the function of contacting taste objects. As for written words, writing and typing are produced through the harmonious operation of mind consciousness and body consciousness, and require the cooperation of the body faculty. The solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) can have sounds in the mind, and images of written words can also appear in the mind; when the solitary consciousness introspects, it can know its own inner voice and mental images of words.

The above belong to the verbal and mental actions of the six consciousnesses; there are also bodily actions. Bodily actions can only be accomplished through the joint, harmonious operation of mind consciousness and the five consciousnesses, and require the cooperation of the five faculties; apart from the five faculties, the operation of bodily actions cannot be completed. The creation of bodily, verbal, and mental actions by the six consciousnesses is brought about by the manas, and is the function of the manas' intention. The manas is like a commander, and the six consciousnesses are the executors of the commands. When the commander forms an intention, brain waves transmit it; once the command is issued, the entire body's nervous system begins to operate.

The intention of the manas seems to be like a signal or a code; mind consciousness can understand a part of it, or most of it, but without sufficient wisdom it cannot understand all of it. When the six consciousnesses execute the command and carry out the specific operation, only then do written words, language, and sound appear—this is the functional activity of the operating system. The command system operates only in the form of codes and ciphers, without needing the cooperation of the five faculties, and the manas' mental action is thereby completed. Without the cooperation of the five faculties, of course, written words, language, and sound cannot appear.

When the solitary consciousness leaves the physical body, without the cooperation of the five faculties, likewise there are no written words, language, or sound; it cannot speak or write. Mental thoughts are also something like codes or ciphers, but mind consciousness understands them completely. Once understood, with the cooperation of the five faculties, they can be expressed as written words, language, and sound. If mind consciousness understands the manas' mental thoughts, it can likewise express them through written words, language, and sound. Therefore, written words, language, and sound are tools for expressing mental thoughts; the manas cannot express itself in this way and can only express itself through mind consciousness and the five consciousnesses—except when supernatural powers are present.

As for the codes and ciphers of the eighth consciousness, they can only be understood after the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have transformed consciousness into wisdom and attained a considerable degree of the wisdom of the varieties of paths; before that, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses cannot decipher them, yet they can still enjoy the benefits and privileges bestowed by the eighth consciousness—enjoying them without knowing it, and even believing that these benefits and privileges were earned through their own efforts, and are what they naturally ought to possess. Codes require wisdom to decipher; without wisdom, one will only make a mess of things. Codes and ciphers are all metaphors, used to illustrate the form of mental thoughts; there are actually no such codes or ciphers.