The Vedanā of Manas

The mental faculty (manas) does not merely possess neutral feeling; it also experiences pleasant and painful feelings. Because the mental faculty harbors ignorance and afflictions, and contains wholesome and unwholesome mental factors, it inevitably experiences pleasant and painful feelings, which in turn give rise to the afflictions of greed and hatred. If the mental faculty were to possess only neutral feeling, one would remain unmoved even when subjected to beating, scolding, humiliation, or insult. Although the mind-consciousness might feel discomfort, it would pass quickly without leading to any retaliatory actions. This reflects the excellent cultivation and virtue of highly accomplished practitioners, qualities that ordinary people fundamentally lack. If the mental faculty possessed only neutral feeling, one would remain unmoved even when praised to the skies, and similarly unmoved in the face of power, lust, fame, and wealth, with no pursuit of such things, indifferent to glory, splendor, riches, and honor. Although the mind-consciousness might feel some liking for these, it would be merely a slight liking, insufficient to prompt any action or effort. This is the virtuous cultivation of great practitioners, something ordinary people would never attain.

Because the mental faculty's reception of objects in the six sense fields often relies on the six consciousnesses, and because the six consciousnesses possess distinct functions of discernment regarding objects, their feelings are also clear and direct. In contrast, the feelings of the mental faculty appear more indirect and subtle, not easily detected by the mind-consciousness. Hence, it is said that the mental faculty has no feeling. Regarding feelings in the physical body, they are directly received by the mind-consciousness and body-consciousness. Physical pain and comfort are directly felt by the body-consciousness and mind-consciousness. When the six consciousnesses are absent, such as in the case of physical pain or pleasure, the mind-consciousness and body-consciousness have no sensation. But does the mental faculty have sensation at such times? The mental faculty certainly has sensation. Therefore, during unconsciousness or sleep, the mental faculty will rouse the six consciousnesses to discern and attempt to address issues in the physical body. Even if the six consciousnesses are not roused to wakefulness, facial expressions and bodily postures during unconsciousness or sleep indicate that the mental faculty possesses sensation.

Sentient beings take the feelings of the six consciousnesses as the only feelings and thus fail to perceive the feelings of the mental faculty. When the wisdom of the mind-consciousness is insufficient and lacks the wisdom of the path (the wisdom to perceive the path to liberation), one cannot observe that the mental faculty possesses feeling. Therefore, it is unsurprising that many people claim the mental faculty has no feeling, but this is not correct reasoning. The five omnipresent mental factors are attention, contact, feeling, perception, and volition. The mental faculty also possesses these five omnipresent mental factors; thus, it necessarily possesses feeling.