The Constant Deliberative Nature of the Manas

The manas's nature of constant, sustained deliberation (manasikāra) has been operating this way since beginningless kalpas. He always clings to the existence of a self, constantly and attentively deliberating on what is most beneficial to himself, how to achieve his own aims, and how to fulfill his own wishes; He forever weighs and evaluates all the dharmas He encounters, deciding how to accept or reject them. After deliberation, He decides to accept or reject and to act, but He needs the six consciousnesses as tools to carry out actions, for the manas itself cannot act; He can only direct the six consciousnesses to perform bodily, verbal, and mental actions, while the eighth consciousness cooperates moment by moment. Only after the manas has subdued self-grasping and transformed consciousness into wisdom does His deliberative and weighing nature regarding the self diminish, and He no longer always deliberates and makes choices centered on His own selfish interests.