Consciousness Should Effectively Perfume and Transform the Manas

Many people unconsciously display emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness when facing external circumstances. Only afterward do they realize it and claim these emotions were predetermined and involuntary. In truth, these are the afflictive habits of the mentation root, its natural reactions manifested through the six consciousnesses. After the emotions surface and the conscious mind becomes aware and discerning, it recognizes that joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness just arose. Once the conscious mind notices this, it feels as if these emotions are beyond its control, and thus reluctantly concludes they were preordained and involuntary. If the conscious mind possesses greater discernment, stronger concentration, and keener observation, it can perceive some of the mentation root's emotions and mental states, and can even exert a degree of control over the emotions. Especially in daily life, one should engage more in self-education to imbue the mentation root and transform some of its inappropriate afflictive habits.

Some people's conscious thoughts and emotions are also unwholesome. Lacking the capacity for self-education and effective mental cultivation, they excuse themselves by saying that no matter how much the conscious mind struggles, it cannot break free from the habitual patterns of the mentation root. If the conscious mind truly couldn't escape the mentation root's habitual sphere no matter how it struggled, what use would spiritual cultivation serve? The very purpose of cultivation is to use the conscious mind to transform the mentation root. When the conscious mind struggles diligently and effectively, the mentation root is compelled to follow its lead, and cultivation then proceeds on the right track.

The various mental activities, thoughts, and emotions of the mentation root give rise to all kinds of physical, verbal, and mental actions. If one wishes to have pure, wholesome physical, verbal, and mental actions, one must fully utilize the initiative and guiding function of the conscious mind, actively guiding the mentation root towards goodness, thereby creating pure physical, verbal, and mental actions, as well as meritorious ones. If the habits of the mentation root are too deeply ingrained, the conscious mind, though aware of the unwholesomeness, may be unable to change, much like when a drug addiction flares up: one knows the drug harms oneself yet still takes it. When sentient beings are heavily afflicted, though they recognize the affliction and know its faults, they still cannot cease being afflicted. This is the state of the most elementary practitioners; the path of cultivation remains very long.