The Recollection of the Mind Consciousness Is Regulated by the Manas

Question: Some say that the manas' characteristic of grasping is extremely vast and far-reaching, attaching to everything without exception; therefore the manas cannot remember anything, and remembering things from this life and the past has always been the affair of the mind consciousness, having nothing to do with the manas. Is this statement correct?

Answer: This statement is not correct. Although the dharma to which the manas attaches is very broad, making it difficult to concentrate, the manas still has memory of the people, things, and events it has experienced; it is just that it cannot recall them the way the mind consciousness does. When the manas wants to process the dharma it has remembered, it must have the mind consciousness recall it. Only when the mind consciousness recalls it can the six consciousnesses process it concretely. If it cannot be recalled, it cannot be processed, because the manas has no tools of the six consciousnesses and cannot fabricate anything by itself.

If the manas does not want to process the dharma it has remembered in any way, not considering it important or necessary, it will not have the mind consciousness recall it. Whether the mind consciousness recalls something depends entirely on the direction, mobilization, and control of the manas, on the manas' volition. As for things the manas experienced in past lives, if they need special treatment and handling, it will also have the mind consciousness recall them; but since the mind consciousness has not experienced them, it cannot recall them, and will feel baffled and incredulous, appearing somewhat muddled. If the mind consciousness is more intelligent, it will half understand and half not understand, seeming to understand yet not quite. For example, when walking in a certain place, the mind consciousness will feel very familiar with it, yet cannot remember when it has been here before. But the manas knows; He knows that He has been here in a past life and is now passing through here, and so He will let the mind consciousness know and feel it too. Yet the mind consciousness cannot recall it, and only under the manas' suggestion feels as if it has experienced it before. Meeting a certain person is the same.

When encountering toys and things familiar from before the age of three to five, the mind consciousness feels a special sense of intimacy, a special feeling, yet the mind consciousness cannot articulate it. This is the manas hinting to the mind consciousness. The manas knows these things, but cannot recall them and does not know the details, so He alerts the mind consciousness. Therefore the manas definitely has the function of memory—He remembers but cannot recall. When the mind consciousness possesses supernormal powers, it can rely on the manas to recall events from life after life. But when the manas does not need it, even if the mind consciousness has supernormal powers, it will not recall and discern; it is still directed and controlled by the manas.