The Distinction Between the Manas and the Activities of the Mind Consciousness

If the manas is stirred, there will be various reactions in the physical body, such as blushing, a racing heart, shyness, bulging veins, or trembling all over, and so on. When only the mind consciousness is stirred, the body has little reaction and remains relatively calm. Those who only talk but do not act are operating with the mind consciousness alone, while the manas is not stirred; those who say one thing and do another speak with the mind consciousness, but the manas does not want to do it, and so they do not do it; those with a habit of deceiving others all perform with the mind consciousness, while the manas is not stirred at all. Therefore, to observe a person's character, one should look at how he acts, not merely at how he speaks—doing is more real than saying.

The activity of the manas consumes a certain amount of energy, whereas the activity of the mind consciousness does not necessarily consume energy, or consumes relatively little. If the mind consciousness's activity does consume energy, it also involves the whole body, because energy flows throughout the body; the whole body uses the same stream of energy—energy is not divided into separate portions. It is merely that people who like to engage the brain in thinking consume the energy in the brain first, and only when the brain's energy is insufficient will the energy of the whole body be consumed. The brain drives the whole body, so when the brain is tired, the whole body becomes fatigued along with it and needs rest.

In the activity of the mind consciousness, there is not a complete absence of the manas's activity; the manas is involved to some degree, and so energy is consumed—the greater the involvement, the more energy is consumed. If I do not think about problems with deep mental engagement, and just quietly carry out superficial activity of the mind consciousness all day, I do not feel tired even after a whole day and night, nor do I feel very hungry. But if I think about problems with deep mental engagement, I feel tired after a short while and get hungry easily. That is why I am entirely unwilling to engage with people and affairs, unwilling to exert my mind, unwilling to consider unimportant matters—unless they are meaningful and relatively important.

Investigating Chan with deep mental engagement also consumes a great deal of energy, whereas cultivating meditative concentration without thinking does not consume much energy; instead, the body feels quite comfortable and relaxed. Cultivating concentration without thinking is relatively effortless, while contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and thinking can possibly burn out the brain. When thinking with the mind consciousness, because the mental engagement is shallow and slight, it is relatively fast and easy—one can speak in generalities, flow like drifting clouds and running water, and produce a string of brilliant remarks—but the content is shallow and superficial, reflecting one's level of knowledge and memory rather than one's level of wisdom. When thinking with the manas, because the mental engagement is very deep, the consciousness runs more slowly and is more mentally taxing, but the content is profound and far-reaching in significance, reflecting a person's deep-level wisdom.

Let me use an analogy to illustrate the difference between using the mind consciousness and using the manas. Suppose a person is walking in mud: if the mud is shallow, only reaching the soles of the shoes, walking is still relatively fast and relatively effortless; but if the mud submerges the ankles, the calves, or the knees, it is not easy to pull the feet out, and every step takes great effort, so walking becomes very slow. Thinking with the mind consciousness is like walking on a road with shallow mud, while thinking with the manas is like walking on a road with deep mud. Therefore, for a person who thinks about problems with the manas, if he always remains at the deep level of the manas and is highly focused, then each time he shifts a thought or switches to a new problem, his mental process will be very slow, requiring the consumption of much energy and feeling somewhat tiring. Such a person therefore likes quietude and does not want people or affairs from the outside to disturb him.