How the Mind Consciousness Hands a Problem over to the Manas for Deliberation

After the mind consciousness has pondered a problem and roughly understands where the issue lies, with only the solution remaining to be found, at this point the problem can be handed over to the manas for deliberation (manasikāra/manana). At the very beginning, when one is not yet skilled in this method of transferring problems and lacks technique, the process is like this. Once the method becomes proficient, the manas can directly enter a mode of deep deliberation. After the mind consciousness has clarified the ins and outs of the problem, it tells the manas that this is extremely important and must be figured out, then deeply hangs the key point of the problem in the mind and hands it over to the manas. The manas will then deliberate continuously until a result emerges. Very often, while the mind consciousness is thinking, the manas is already deliberating; the better the meditative concentration (samādhi) and the more attentive one is, the more and more deeply the manas participates. And when the mind consciousness fails to think out a result, the manas will not give up; it will deliberate on its own, and at some unpredictable moment a result will appear.

Does the manas have thoughts when it deliberates?

When the manas is constantly examining and deliberating, are there any thoughts in the mind? Only when the manas has dharmas it is mindful of does it deliberate and examine; first there is mindfulness, then deliberation and examination; without mindfulness there is no deliberation. If the manas's mind is empty and does not give thought to anything, there is no mental activity, no need to examine anything or deliberate about anything; at this time the manas is pure. But when the manas has not been subdued, its grasping is rather heavy and there are very many thoughts in the mind, so the mind will endlessly deliberate, ponder, examine, judge, and weigh things without stop; if it cannot figure things out during the day, it continues examining and deliberating at night, and in severe cases one will wake up in the middle of the night unable to sleep. This is why it is said that sentient beings' manas has the nature of constant examination and deliberation. For arhats whose manas has already been subdued, there are almost no thoughts left in the mind; they do not think much about anything, and the manas only deliberates occasionally, but not constantly, so it cannot be called "constant." Therefore, as long as the manas deliberates on a dharma, there is a thought; the dharma being deliberated is the thought, the object of the manas's mindfulness.