Only When the Manas Is Concentrated Is There Samādhi

Question: Does the manas never focus on a single dharma, constantly grasping at all dharmas at every moment?

Answer: The manas indeed has the function and nature of grasping at all dharmas, but He may not be able to grasp at all dharmas simultaneously, may not be willing to grasp at all dharmas simultaneously, and may not have the energy to grasp at all dharmas simultaneously. When the manas is very scattered and grasping at many dharmas at the same time, and the mind consciousness is unwilling to follow Him and grasp at them as well, the manas knows that such indiscriminate grasping is useless, and so He stops grasping at the dharmas that the mind consciousness is not interested in. He will then gradually settle down, His energy will gradually become concentrated, thereby subduing His own scattered mind, and meditative concentration (samādhi) will arise. This is the result of cultivating concentration, the result of the mind consciousness's wisdom permeating and influencing Him, and the result of the mind consciousness's restraint.

Therefore, the manas is capable of developing meditative concentration, is capable of subduing His own tendency toward broad grasping, and His mind can become more and more concentrated, to the point of becoming increasingly focused on certain dharmas or dharmas of a certain kind. When His attention has a particular emphasis or bias, and the dharmas He takes as objects are selected, the manas has attained concentration. Regarding matters in which He is extremely interested, the manas can naturally concentrate His focus without the restraint of the mind consciousness, and the six consciousnesses will be drawn by the manas to focus on the matters that interest Him. Therefore, if one wishes to cultivate meditative concentration well, the mind consciousness should select some dharmas that the manas is extremely interested in for the manas to grasp at. In this way, once the manas becomes focused, meditative concentration will appear, and meditative absorption (samādhi) can be quickly accomplished.