The Dharma of Manas-Contact Unperceived by Consciousness

The manas is bound together with the Tathagatagarbha; whatever dharmas the Tathagatagarbha manifests, the manas contacts and perceives whatever dharmas. However, the discernment of the manas is also divided into priorities and levels. If the dharmas it focuses on cannot be clearly discerned by itself, it will generate intention and make decisions, and the six consciousnesses will emerge to discern. If the dharmas that the manas can clearly discern by itself cannot be handled, it will generate intention and make decisions to let the six consciousnesses emerge to discern and handle them.

There are extremely many dharmas that the manas can clearly discern by itself without needing to handle, which the consciousness does not know. There are also extremely many dharmas that the manas contacts without needing the six consciousnesses to discern, which the consciousness does not know. There are also extremely many dharmas that the manas contacts and clearly discerns, and it wants the consciousness to know and handle them, but due to insufficient wisdom, the consciousness cannot know, being muddled, and even feels baffled by the hints and suggestions from the manas, finally leaving them unresolved.

The Tathagatagarbha manifests the realm of the six dusts; when the six dusts first appear, it is the manas that first contacts and discerns them. If the manas cannot clearly discern the six dusts, the six consciousnesses emerge to discern them carefully. When the six consciousnesses first discern, there is nothing to compare the six dusts with, so they cannot discern clearly, and the consciousness feels vague. After discerning for a few moments, when there is something to compare the preceding and following six dusts with, the dust realm becomes coherent, then the consciousness knows what the six dusts are. For example, when writing, after writing the first stroke, others do not know what character it is; after writing the second stroke, they still do not know what character it is; after writing the third stroke, they can vaguely guess what character it is; after writing the fourth stroke, they know what character it is.