Cultivating the Habit of Spiritual Practice in the Manas

Question: I have developed a habit of conversing with the manas (the mental faculty) before sleeping every night. Through testing, I discovered that whenever the topic relates to the Dharma (all involving the manas), I invariably dream about that subject throughout the night. If the topic is unrelated to the Dharma and does not concern the manas, no related dreams occur. Does the manas possess such a high degree of selectivity?

Answer: The mental factor of intention (cetanā) within the manas is exceptionally powerful. It seeks to be the master moment by moment, making choices moment by moment. It possesses the nature of deliberation (mananā) towards all dharmas, constantly weighing them. Its functions of mastery and decision-making are immensely strong; no other consciousness can replace it. When the manas, through the sixth consciousness (mano-vijñāna), comes into contact with the Dharma and becomes profoundly influenced and permeated by it, it can become wholeheartedly devoted to the Dharma. This cultivates the habit of practice, forming a habitual tendency (vāsanā) towards cultivation. Consequently, even while asleep, it continues to deliberate. Since it cannot deliberate on overly detailed or specific content, it generates dreams, allowing the sixth consciousness to participate within the dream state. Once the manas is permeated by the Dharma, it may abandon some worldly dharmas, deeming them unimportant or improper and thus to be discarded. It then ceases to deliberate upon or discern these unimportant dharmas. Hence, in dreams, apart from the more valued Dharma matters, no other events will appear.

The forgetting and remembering by the sixth consciousness arise precisely due to the selectivity of the manas. Matters the manas deems important, it continuously clings to and keeps thinking about; matters it deems unimportant or undesirable, it ceases to cling to or think about. When the sense faculty and sense object do not come into contact, the sixth consciousness does not arise. Therefore, the sixth consciousness does not discern matters the manas is not interested in, while it can recall and bring to mind matters the manas is interested in and considers important. This is the principle behind memory and forgetting. Thus, there is no dharma discerned by the sixth consciousness that has not first been clung to and discerned by the manas; none that the manas has not 'recited' or brought to mind. If the manas does not 'recite' or impel it, the sixth consciousness does not arise and cannot discern it. After the manas first discerns a mental object (dharmāyatana), if it is not interested, the sixth consciousness cannot manifest. Consequently, one remains unaware of this mental object, and dreams concerning this matter are even less likely to occur.