The Activities of the Form Body Are All Driven by the Volition of Manas

How is it that every day we move from east to west and south to north, shifting our physical body to any location? This is all driven by the volitional attention of the manas, driven by all the purposes and intentions of the manas. And the intentions of the manas are also influenced and directed by the thoughts and plans of consciousness.

Some may then say, "Clearly, I do whatever my consciousness decides—how can it be that the manas is the one making the decisions?" On the surface, it may seem as though consciousness does whatever it wishes. In reality, however, the thoughts of consciousness must first be agreed upon and accepted by the manas, which then makes the decisive choice, after which the thoughts and purposes of consciousness are manifested.

For example, when driving a car, every moment is determined by the manas deciding how to drive and where to go. Within this, the manas is also moment by moment directed by the analysis, planning, and judgment of consciousness. After consciousness gives direction, if it does not align with the manas’s intentions, the manas may not heed the guidance of consciousness. Only when the manas deems the thoughts of consciousness reasonable will it accept its guidance.

In this process, the mental activities of consciousness are relatively manifest, while those of the manas are more subtle. Consequently, those with insufficient wisdom cannot observe the mental activities of the manas and can only roughly observe those of consciousness. Therefore, when wisdom is lacking, one’s cognitive viewpoints and opinions are insufficient to be relied upon, and one should not consider their views absolutely correct.