The Difference Between the Wisdom of the Manas and the Wisdom of the Mind Consciousness

When encountering a matter, one immediately knows the whole story of it—swiftly and clearly comprehending it in mind without language, words, or sound—this is the wisdom of the manas, which is extremely difficult to observe, and most people are unaware of it. Whereas when one encounters a matter and cannot know it immediately, needing to deliberate, analyze, summarize, organize, compare, and imagine before one can know it, this is the wisdom of the mind consciousness. The mind consciousness employs language, words, and sound, utilizing coarse and shallow deliberative functions, and this part of its functioning is easy to observe.

Why can some matters be known immediately while others cannot? The moment a matter arises, it is the manas that performs attention, contact, feeling, perception, and volition. For matters that are very familiar to the manas, matters it has experienced before, it can know them immediately, and it can automatically take charge and handle and respond to them. For matters that are unfamiliar and never experienced, it cannot know them immediately, and even after deliberation (manasikāra/manana) it still does not know them; then the mind consciousness arises, letting the mind consciousness discern and deliberate. The manas then deliberates again based on the results of the mind consciousness's analysis, and then proceeds to handle and respond. The function of the mind consciousness is to assist the manas in discernment; if the manas itself clearly understands the matter, it does not need the mind consciousness to discern and deliberate, and directly makes the decision, swiftly handling and responding to the matter.