The Nature of Manas

Jinghe's Experiential Account: One day, while sitting in a chair wearing headphones and listening to the Great Compassion Mantra, I fell asleep without dreaming. At that moment, something seemed to stir within the darkness before me (though it wasn't truly "before me" as there was no sense of direction, yet I wasn't consciously aware of this lack of direction; it felt like being adrift in the vast expanse of the universe). A sense of curiosity arose within me, a desire to understand the cause of this movement, and then this movement transformed into a point of bright light.

I (at that time, without any concept of "I") continued to move towards the light. Just as I made contact with it, consciousness arose, and I realized that the movement was actually the sound of the Great Compassion Mantra coming from the headphones. (At this moment, I suddenly became aware: something had entered the brain from the body, and the functions of the five senses emerged.) Then, recalling the state before consciousness arose, it felt like being an ignorant child or a small animal. Some movement would attract attention, and I would follow it without any capacity for reflection.

Commentary: The "before me" experienced during sleep is not the physical front, but rather a dharma relative to the manas (the mental faculty). At this stage, even if the eye consciousness and mental consciousness are not entirely extinguished, they are extremely faint. Without a sense of forward or backward direction, the manas cannot clearly perceive the dharmas, hence the feeling of being lost in a boundless expanse. The arising of curiosity and the movement towards the light is precisely the manas. This is the manas seeking to engage with a dharma, yet it does not know it is seeking to engage. Its self-perception is weak. When it encounters the sound of the Great Compassion Mantra, it cannot clearly discern it and can only perceive it as bright light. This is because the Great Compassion Mantra possesses blessing power, which manifests like a radiant light.

Just as the manas first encounters the sound of the Great Compassion Mantra and begins to perceive the light, a faint consciousness appears. This consciousness discerns that the sound is the Great Compassion Mantra. When the consciousness discerns the sound, the manas has already sensed the light (the sound) entering the brain. Instantly, the consciousness understands, and at this moment, the five sense consciousnesses emerge, bringing much greater clarity. After becoming clear-headed, the consciousness recalls the preceding process, perceiving the manas as being like a child – lacking stability, curiously following any movement that appears, utterly simple, naive, yet also very alert, appearing wherever there is activity. Of course, this recollection by the consciousness is also the manas seeking to understand what just happened, instructing the consciousness to recall. Recalling events before consciousness arose relies on the manas providing the scene and material; only then can the consciousness (which is us) understand what truly occurred.

This account accurately describes the mentality of the manas: simple, primitive, naive, lacking self-control, requiring the consciousness to oversee and restrain it, needing the consciousness to urge and guide it. Contemplate well this truthful description of the manas, savor the characteristics of the manas, and deepen your understanding of the essential nature of the manas.