Consciousness Perceiving the Content Known by Manas Is Called Supernatural Power

Question: Can the mental faculty (manas) grasp at its own past, present, and future bodies (or people and events connected to it) throughout the ten directions and three periods of time? For example, if the mental faculty directs its attention, will others receive this information?

Answer: Sentient beings all rely on the knowing of the conscious mind (mano-vijñāna) for knowing. If the mental faculty knows something but the conscious mind does not know it, it is as if one does not know. The mental faculty relies on the Tathāgatagarbha to know all dharmas, but it cannot make the conscious mind know them. Only after cultivating the four dhyānas and eight samādhis can the conscious mind know the content known by the mental faculty; this is then called supernatural power (abhijñā). If your mental faculty emits information, the mental faculty of another can also know it, but if the other's conscious mind does not know it, then it is as if they do not know. Unless the mental faculty uses a special method to make the conscious mind know, that person cannot know.

After the conscious mind is transformed from consciousness into wisdom (jñāna), it can know some of the content known by the mental faculty. Being able to observe the mental faculty directly, it can understand some of the mental activities and intrinsic nature of the mental faculty. Some say the scope and content of the mental faculty's knowing has expanded. In reality, the mental faculty could always rely on the Tathāgatagarbha to know an immense number of dharmas; it's just that the conscious mind could not perceive them.