Does the Seventh Consciousness, the Manas, Ultimately Have Wholesome Mental Factors?

If the seventh consciousness lacks faith, then the mind consciousness's faith is also false faith, essentially having no effect. If the seventh consciousness is not diligent, then the diligence of the six consciousnesses is false diligence; before long it slackens, because the six consciousnesses take their commands from the seventh consciousness.

If the seventh consciousness has no sense of shame and remorse, then the mind consciousness's shame and remorse are all false shame and remorse, and the seventh consciousness remains unwholesome.

If the seventh consciousness had no non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion, then there would be no need to eradicate the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion—one would directly be at the third or fourth fruit. Even if the mind consciousness had the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, it could not sustain greed, hatred, and delusion for long, because the mind consciousness takes its commands from the seventh consciousness. Yet later it is said that the seventh consciousness has the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion—this is self-contradictory.

If the seventh consciousness had no wrong view, extreme view, view of grasping, or view of holding to precepts and rituals, then there would be no need to eradicate these wrong views; such wrong views in the mind consciousness would vanish before long, for the mind consciousness cannot act as the master directing the cycle of birth and death in future lives.

Most importantly, if the seventh consciousness lacks meditative concentration (samādhi), the six consciousnesses simply cannot become concentrated; even if they truly attain concentration, they become scattered after a short while. The six consciousnesses must turn along with the seventh consciousness; when the seventh consciousness grasps at objects everywhere, the six consciousnesses must discriminate everywhere and cannot act autonomously—otherwise the seventh consciousness would not be the consciousness that acts as the master.