How to Train Manas for Thinking and Problem-Solving: A Guide to Manas Training

When encountering problems, do not rush to immediately use consciousness to think, analyze, and draw conclusions. If the matter is not particularly urgent, calm the mind, strive to eliminate distracting thoughts, focus solely on the current issue, refrain from conscious analysis, conscious reasoning, conscious judgment, and especially avoid conscious conclusions. Empty other thoughts, fixate on this problem, avoid having words or language in the mind, avoid inner voices, and quietly fixate on the issue. Yet the mind is not empty; it is not that the problem is unconsidered. Rather, the manas (root consciousness) quietly suspends the problem within the mind, silently deliberating upon it.

Consciousness does not engage in thinking or analysis, yet manas confronts the problem, thinking and deliberating without words, language, or sound. When lacking experience or when the mind is not subtle, one may not perceive manas having mental activity. Yet it indeed possesses immense mental activity, merely obscured by the activities of consciousness. For some, manas is very weak in energy and thinking power because there are too many scattered, fragmented distracting thoughts, dispersing energy and leading to insufficient mental strength. This makes it impossible to concentrate on contemplating a single issue or to perfectly, reasonably, and deeply resolve a problem.

One crucial reason why sentient beings possess inferior and weak wisdom is the abundance of distracting thoughts, resulting in a chaotic, cluttered mind without a clear main thread or focus. It is like a combat team where members act independently, scattering the team's strength, unable to unite to form a powerful force to bravely and successfully resist opposing forces, ultimately leading to defeat against every adversary. Another significant reason is meager merit, a severe lack of merit and virtue, lacking the support of blessed virtue—though this point will not be discussed further here.

Therefore, to enhance wisdom, especially the wisdom of manas, one must eliminate distracting thoughts and develop the ability to concentrate the mind, focusing on very few, important, and critical issues. To achieve this, one must suppress consciousness, use it sparingly, and avoid frequently employing the words, language, and sounds of consciousness. Do not constantly have inner voices or internal monologues. Sometimes, having an internal monologue of consciousness is acceptable, but beyond that, there should also be focused deliberation by manas. While consciousness monologues, manas deliberates simultaneously, both focused on the same matter. At this point, the energy of manas increases, its power becomes concentrated, enabling it to break through the inner darkness and ignorance, find the root of the problem, and resolve it fundamentally.

When manas deliberates clearly, it can solve problems fundamentally. Problems understood through consciousness, even if seemingly resolved, are incomplete, unstable, and unreliable; moreover, they are difficult to solve thoroughly. Because manas is the master consciousness, problems it has considered clearly and resolved will not lead to regret later. Decisions based on the analysis of consciousness, however, are prone to regret and easily changed intentions or ideas. Fickle individuals are those accustomed to using consciousness for thinking, not manas; they tend to be superficial. Indecisive people and those who like to depend on others are unaccustomed to using manas to contemplate problems; they habitually use consciousness instead. Because their own consciousness is unreliable, they have no choice but to depend on others.

Using manas to contemplate and solve problems, though steady, reliable, thorough, and ultimate—capable of going straight to the root—is often slower. Deep thought tends to be slow, while shallow thought is fast. It is like digging a well: digging deep requires effort and is slow; digging shallowly requires little effort and is fast. But slow digging yields water, while fast digging does not produce water. Slow is fast, and fast is slow—the effects differ. Therefore, one cannot seek speed; quality is paramount. Our approach to contemplating and solving problems is the same: deep contemplation and decision-making require time, but slow work yields fine results, producing perfect outcomes. A person accustomed to deep contemplation, a person accustomed to using manas, generally thinks relatively slowly and acts slowly, but comparatively possesses the best wisdom and the best results, being less prone to errors and regret.

To achieve good results in handling matters and solving problems, do not seek speed. Instead, deliberate deeply, use manas more for thinking and decision-making, train the thinking power of manas more, and practice that kind of concentration and observation without words, language, or sound. After training for a long time, when manas is used skillfully, one will discover that thinking with manas is very profound and interesting, highly attractive. The more one thinks, the less one wishes to stop. Consequently, one develops a preference for solitude, dislikes disturbance, and wisdom grows increasingly profound. Solving problems becomes more and more effortless and adept. Once a person's manas is well-trained and habitually used, that person appears very profound, possessing depth, distinctive qualities, profound thoughts, unique insights, and strong capabilities. Crucially, they are steady, reliable, trustworthy, and do not constantly change their stance.