It Is Necessarily Manas That Attains the Fruition

Why did Śāriputra, while in his mother's womb, enable his mother to possess such exceptional wisdom in debate? Was it the wisdom of Śāriputra's consciousness or the wisdom of the mental faculty (manas)? This was the wisdom of the mental faculty. If the function of consciousness were very powerful in the womb, everyone should be born equal and possess wisdom. Some children, without being taught, can sit cross-legged in meditation at three or four years old. This is brought by the mental faculty from past lives. The wisdom displayed by child prodigies is also the wisdom of the mental faculty.

Why would anyone insist that the wisdom of the mental faculty is inferior? If the wisdom of the mental faculty were truly inferior, there would be no inherently great sages. For example, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, when entering the womb, abiding in the womb, and emerging from the womb, are not deluded by the world of the Five Aggregates and possess great wisdom. Additionally, some ordinary beings with special talents possess certain innate abilities from childhood, which they do not learn from elsewhere or require teaching; these are all brought by the mental faculty and are the wisdom of the mental faculty.

Given the same conscious mind, why did Śāriputra attain the fourth fruition of Arhatship immediately upon hearing the Buddha's teaching, while others remained ordinary beings? It is because Śāriputra's mental faculty had already attained fruition many times in past lives. However, the consciousness in this life is new. Therefore, upon hearing the Dharma again, he did not need to engage in contemplation and practice from the beginning. His consciousness attained selflessness immediately upon hearing the Buddha's teaching, continuing the fruition from his previous life. The mental faculties of others had not attained fruition. When they heard the Dharma, only their consciousness gained some clarity. They still needed to engage in careful contemplation and practice in meditative concentration to attain fruition. Thus, when they lacked meditative concentration and could not effectively contemplate and practice, they could not attain fruition and remained ordinary beings.

When attaining fruition, if one claims that the mental faculty does not attain fruition, will this person still possess the wisdom of attained fruition in the next life? A Stream-enterer (first fruition) must attain the fourth fruition after seven rounds of rebirth between the human and heavenly realms, ultimately attaining the remainderless Nirvana. After attaining the first fruition, if one dies and is reborn in a heaven, their mental faculty has not attained fruition, and their consciousness, being newly born, has also not attained fruition. Upon reaching heaven, would this person still be a Stream-enterer? Clearly not. Would this person need to re-attain the first fruition in heaven? Of course, they would need to engage in contemplation and practice again to attain fruition because neither the consciousness nor the mental faculty has attained fruition.

After this heavenly being attains fruition again in heaven, upon death they are reborn in the human realm. Since the mental faculty has not attained fruition and the consciousness is still newly born and has not attained fruition, this person must once again re-attain the first fruition. Then, they must undergo seven more rounds of rebirth between the human and heavenly realms, requiring them to re-attain the first fruition again. In this way, this person would forever have to re-attain the first fruition and could never become a Once-returner (second fruition), Non-returner (third fruition), or Arhat (fourth fruition). If, while in the human realm or heaven, the conditions for attaining fruition are not met, they cannot even attain the first fruition and can only remain an ordinary being. When, then, could they become an Arhat and be liberated from the cycle of birth and death in the three realms? Therefore, attaining fruition must involve both consciousness and the mental faculty attaining fruition.