The Deliberation of Manas Is More Fundamental Than the Thinking of Mano-vijñāna

Ruchun: The night before last, before sleeping, I contemplated: Why is there no shore in the sea of suffering, yet turning back brings one ashore? I contemplated while writing, and the process was quite lengthy. The final conclusion was: Within worldly phenomena, there is no true happiness; ultimately, everything is suffering. The various kinds of suffering form the sea of suffering, also called the accumulation of suffering. All are changing, impermanent, and not singular—thus, they are not true Dharma. If we cannot see through their illusory nature and become greedy, attached, and immersed in them, then the sea of suffering has no shore. Conversely, if we borrow the false to cultivate the true, turn our minds back towards the Way, and return to the source, this is called "turning back brings one ashore."

During this contemplation, consciousness (mano-vijñāna) was mostly dominant, but I could sense that the manas (the defiled mental faculty) was also participating. Because the writing was very smooth and focused, with inspiration, the body and mind were joyful, and I didn't feel tired. When I finished writing, I looked at the time—it was already 2 a.m. Time had passed very quickly. After finishing, I went to sleep but felt as if a trace of thought was still lingering, and my sleep became shallow.

During morning meditation, a line surfaced in my mind: "Originally, there is no shore in the sea of suffering, why need a shore to turn to?" It seems this should be the result of the manas continuing its work last night. Can it be understood this way: The contemplation done earlier by consciousness pertained to conditioned phenomena (saṃskṛta dharma), while after falling asleep, the manas' contemplation added consideration from the perspective of unconditioned phenomena (asaṃskṛta dharma). Does this indicate that the manas, when the mind is calm and obstructions are reduced, is wiser than consciousness? Is contemplation like this beneficial for practice? I feel that recently, during meditation, my state is unstable. When it's good, the whole body feels ethereal as if floating in emptiness; when it's poor, the legs are stiff, painful, and lack strength. I've made some adjustments but haven't yet pinpointed the key issue.

Commentary: Contemplating while writing involves an element of concentration; both the thinking of consciousness and the deliberation of the manas are present. Because writing is relatively slow, it's easier to gather the mind and concentrate, allowing it to penetrate the mind of the manas, giving the manas an opportunity to deliberate. The collaboration of both consciousnesses in contemplation is wiser than contemplation by consciousness alone and more likely to lead to thorough understanding. After writing, consciousness rests, but the manas does not rest; it continues to deliberate independently. Without the interference of the six consciousnesses, the manas' deliberation is more focused and effective, resulting in the birth of wisdom, clarifying and penetrating the issue thoroughly. When consciousness reappears, it becomes aware of the manas' wise cognition, and consciousness also gives birth to wisdom.

Superficial contemplation during daytime activities belongs to the level of consciousness. At night, during meditation, suspending the problem in the mind for silent deliberation and going to sleep with the question after meditation—this is the deep contemplation of the manas. After waking up in the morning, the answer to the problem is known automatically and effortlessly; it is the result of the manas' deliberation. Therefore, during investigation, it is always the manas investigating alone, or investigating together with consciousness. The result is that when the manas severs the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and realizes the mind to see the nature (ming xin jian xing), consciousness immediately knows this content and gains the same wisdom. The attainment of all true wisdom, ultimate wisdom, is necessarily obtained through the deliberation of the manas. The wisdom of consciousness is obtained simultaneously or afterward. Therefore, the claim that consciousness attains the fruit (of enlightenment) is sheer nonsense.