Only by Eliminating the Ignorance of the Manas Can Karma Be Dissolved

"Rivers and mountains may change, but nature is hard to move"—"rivers and mountains may change" refers to the conscious mind (mind consciousness); "nature is hard to move" refers to the manas. As long as the manas does not change, no dharma can change it; things remain as they have always been. If the innate nature is not changed, even when the rivers and mountains have changed, they will still change back, and will arise again.

The five great seeds never change and exist perpetually and constantly, including the seed of the consciousness element and the seed of the seeing element. If karmic seeds are to be changed, first the manas must change; if the manas does not change, the karmic seeds cannot be changed. Therefore, to dissolve karmic obstructions, the ignorance of the manas must be removed; only then can karma be dissolved. Karma exists only because of the ignorance of the manas; without ignorance there is no karma. And for the ignorance of the manas to be removed, the manas must recognize the truth and the true reality, eliminate self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi), and realize the true mind. For individual karma to be eliminated, the manas must repent; repentance by the mind consciousness alone is useless.