When the Six Consciousnesses Are Absent, All Mental Activities in the Five-Aggregate Body Are the Mental Activities of the Manas

In the middle of the night when one is asleep, the tactile sensation of cold arises in the body, and then the body consciousness and mind consciousness are born to resolve the problem of the cold. In the middle of the night when one is asleep, a painful tactile sensation arises in the body, and so the body consciousness and mind consciousness are born to feel the painful sensation and deal with it. If the manas already knew whether it was cold, hot, or painful, why would the mind consciousness still need to be born? Because after the manas knows that a problem has arisen, it cannot personally handle and resolve it; the problems of the five-aggregate body need to be dealt with by the six consciousnesses. When the six consciousnesses are absent, the mental activities that occur in the five-aggregate body are all mental activities of the manas; and when the six consciousnesses are extremely weak, those mental activities are also almost entirely those of the manas. Observe the state of a person in a vegetative state: does a person in a vegetative state feel pain? Would they be willing to be in a vegetative state? Would they be willing to continue lying in bed? When eating, are they willing to eat? What manifestations do they show upon seeing their closest loved ones? All of these can demonstrate the mental activities and feelings of the manas.

When one is in a coma, is the manas willing to be in the coma, and what manifestations are there? From these manifestations one can observe the mental activities of the manas. If, during the coma, the manas were in a state of neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā), then the manas should be indifferent, just like the tathāgatagarbha, and simply continue in the coma. Yet as soon as the body recovers a little, the manas will prompt the six consciousnesses to appear and prompt the functions of the five aggregates to appear. This shows that the manas is not willing to be in a coma and is not resigned to being in a coma. Why is it unwilling to be in a coma, not resigned to it, and dislikes it? First, being in a coma does not feel good; second, there is no activity of the five aggregates, and having nothing to do one feels bored—boredom is also a feeling of suffering. If being in a coma felt comfortable, the manas would of course maintain the comatose state; third, the manas fears death. When one is absorbed in meditative concentration during sitting meditation and is unwilling to emerge from it, does this not show that the manas finds it comfortable? Of course, if the mind consciousness is relatively clear-headed and also finds meditative concentration very comfortable, it will become attached to sitting quietly and be unwilling to rise from the seat.