All dharmas arising from the state of samadhi are recited by the manas.

Shi Ruyuan: I recall that during the first two years at my daughter's house, I couldn't do anything well. I was afraid to go out and handle tasks, afraid of making mistakes, afraid of interacting with people. Generally, I didn’t go out; when I had to handle something, I forced myself to go out. Sometimes, when I had physical or mental sensations, I didn’t pay them much mind, feeling that all states are illusory and unreal. Several times, I distinctly felt my body was insubstantial, as if it didn’t belong to me. No matter what I did, my mind just couldn’t react, and I kept making mistakes.

Once, my daughter asked me to hold the baby. At that moment, I couldn’t feel my body’s presence. When I tried to focus my mind and do things, the more I feared making mistakes, the more mistakes I made. While putting the child in the crib, I suddenly froze and spaced out, losing all sense of my body and direction. Just then, my son-in-law saw the baby crawling alone on the bed and rushed over to pick him up, saying this could lead to trouble. Only then did I snap out of it—I had momentarily blanked out, forgetting all bodily sensations. Now, it’s been a long time since I’ve studied the Dharma teachings. Instead, I’m constantly contemplating the familiar image of the impurity of the white skeleton that appears in my mind. Even if I don’t deliberately think about these teachings, they linger persistently, much like how the Buddha’s name echoes incessantly in my mind. The Dharma teachings manifest in the same way.

Just like a few days ago, when my family back home told me about some troubles, I didn’t respond or take them to heart. Sometimes, I even think about the Buddha Dharma in my sleep and wake up muttering, "Know illusion, depart illusion." After waking up, I felt a bit puzzled—why did this phrase emerge? Before I could even consider what was happening, the phrase "eight consciousnesses" popped into my head. I don’t understand what it means. I can grasp "know illusion, depart illusion" a little, but "eight consciousnesses" has me stumped. The more I try to ignore it, the more it persists. Because my manas lacks sufficient direct observational wisdom, I can’t articulate it.

Commentary: In the state of samadhi, whatever Dharma arises in the mind is a thought or concept of the manas. When the Buddha Dharma arises, it indicates that the manas is investigating these teachings—perhaps comprehending them, perhaps not. If not comprehended, it must be transmitted to the manas-consciousness, allowing the manas-consciousness and the manas itself to investigate further. Once the investigation yields understanding, both the consciousness and the manas become clear about that Dharma. This is the process and principle of realizing any Dharma.

Expressing it through language and words is the function of consciousness, not the direct observational wisdom of the manas. If consciousness is not well-trained, lacks sufficient knowledge, or has poor linguistic skills, expression becomes unclear and incoherent. Consciousness needs to continuously study relevant knowledge; only by mastering this knowledge can linguistic and literary skills become sufficient, enabling fluent expression that others can understand. This is the quality and skill that a great bodhisattva must possess—essential for one’s own survival and for delivering sentient beings, indispensable.