Guide to the Cultivation and Realization of the Manas: Part One
Chapter 6: The Difference Between the Manas and the Mind Consciousness
1. The Manas Perceives the Signals of the Physical Body First
When a person craves a certain food, it indicates that the body lacks something. Who exactly is the one craving it, who understands the body's needs so well? The body is the most honest, while language can be extremely false. Why is the body honest and cannot deceive people? Why can language fabricate falsehoods and easily deceive people? The neurons of the body are very closely connected with the manas. Any minute change in the body is known by the manas through the tathāgatagarbha, so the body's signals of need will prompt the manas to resolve them, and the manas will then produce various thoughts and ideas. These are signals emitted directly by the body; the mind consciousness comes to know them one step later than the manas, or may not know them at all. Language, on the other hand, is a function of the mind consciousness, which may not be consistent with the manas's mentality and does not necessarily represent the manas's thoughts and ideas. When the two are inconsistent, that is fabrication.
2. Mountains and Rivers May Change, but Innate Nature Is Hard to Alter
"Mountains and rivers may change" refers to the mind consciousness's susceptibility to being influenced by conditioning; "innate nature is hard to alter" refers to the manas's firmly entrenched habits that are difficult to change. As long as the manas does not change, nothing can change it, and things remain as they always were. If the innate nature is not changed, even if the mountains and rivers change, they will change back and arise again.
The seeds of the five great elements never change and exist eternally, including the seed of the consciousness element and the seed of the seeing element. For karmic seeds to change, the manas must change first; if the manas does not change, the karmic seeds cannot change. Therefore, to eliminate karma, only by removing the manas's ignorance can karma be eliminated. Defiled karma is brought about by the manas's ignorance; without ignorance there is no defiled karma. And to remove the manas's ignorance, the manas must come to know the truth and reality, eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), and realize ultimate reality. If a particular karma is to be eliminated, the manas must repent; repentance by the mind consciousness alone is useless.
3. What Is the Principle Behind "A Good Memory Is Not as Good as a Worn Pen"?
"Memory" here means rote memorization without understanding, which is a function of the mind consciousness. If the content memorized has not yet been conditioned into the manas, the manas does not understand it. How can one effectively condition the manas so that the manas understands and can recall it anytime and anywhere thereafter? One must keep writing. Writing is actual operation; writing is very slow, and while writing, one conditions the manas, so the manas easily comes to understand.
Writing slowly is meditation (samādhi); with the ability to concentrate, the manas can digest and absorb. Later, upon encountering this content, one will understand it without deliberately memorizing it. Content deliberately memorized without understanding is easily forgotten and unreliable, and in future lives it cannot even be recalled. When the manas understands, one can also benefit from it in future lives.
Rote memorization means the manas has not understood the material being studied, relying entirely on the mind consciousness's forced memorization and recitation. However fluently the mind consciousness recites, the manas still does not understand. But when the manas and the mind consciousness truly understand the material, there is no need to memorize or remember it at all; when it is needed, it can naturally be brought forth and applied with ease. People with poor comprehension like to memorize; people with good wisdom, once they understand, let it go. The difference between the mind consciousness's effort and the manas's effort is enormous: the manas's wisdom is true wisdom, while the mind consciousness's wisdom is false wisdom.
4. The Characteristics of Discrimination by the Manas and the Mind Consciousness
The manas discriminates over a broad range, governing the overall situation and the whole, grasping the macro picture, emphasizing strategy. The mind consciousness's range of discrimination is limited, mastering the local, the minute, and the in-depth, emphasizing tactics. A person whose manas has wisdom is suited to be a leader or general; a person with a clever mind consciousness is suited to be a staff advisor or department head, responsible for managing specific affairs. When the two are combined, one can go high or low, broad or fine, having both strategy and tactics, and be invincible.
A person with the bearing of a great general has a manas with wisdom and experience; those engaged in scientific research have a mind consciousness that is meticulous and subtle. Thus a person's aura, temperament, demeanor, and cultivation mostly reside in the manas and mostly refer to the manas. This cannot be learned; learning it on the spot is too late. Even if the mind consciousness tries to fake it, it cannot keep it up for long. What is innate is a person's distinctive traits; that is not learned on the spot and cannot be disguised.
Those who can accurately grasp the development and overall direction of the Buddhist community must be long-trained bodhisattvas. Because of long training, their manas has experienced much, is widely knowledgeable and richly experienced; compared with newly trained bodhisattvas, they understand much more of Buddhist and cultivation history and can see through many phenomena within Buddhism. Therefore, what accords with the Dharma and what does not, the advantages and disadvantages within the Buddha-dharma, they see very clearly, and they also see clearly whether sentient beings' faculties are sharp or dull. All this is the manas's credit, though of course it does not exclude the mind consciousness's discrimination and deliberation.
Newly trained bodhisattvas, having little experience and heavy afflictions, lack experience; they cannot see clearly the affairs of the Buddhist community, cannot see clearly whether sentient beings' faculties are sharp or dull, and cannot see clearly the direction of the Dharma and its advantages and disadvantages. They often view issues one-sidedly and superficially, without thoroughness, so they make more mistakes and misjudge more people and affairs.
5. The Mind Consciousness Awakens Before the Manas
Because of which deluded mind's thinking do sentient beings sink in birth-and-death? Of course, they sink in birth-and-death because of the manas's deluded thinking. Who is the accomplice in sinking through birth-and-death? The manas's tools for committing the deed are the six consciousnesses; the six consciousnesses in turn foster the manas's deluded thinking and ignorance, and thus there is no end to birth-and-death. Someone must awaken first — who can awaken first? The mind consciousness has no innate attachments, its ignorance is not so deeply rooted, its analytical and deliberative abilities are strong, its thinking is quick and flexible, and it easily accepts new things; upon encountering the Buddha-dharma, it will awaken first. When encountering defiled things, after the mind consciousness makes contact, it is also the first to be conditioned, and then it influences the manas. It can be seen that the mind consciousness is easily conditioned by the surrounding environment, and then goes on to condition the manas.
6. What Is on the Surface Is the Mind Consciousness; What Is Hidden Is the Manas
Why is the manas not easily discovered? Because the manas has no language or words, its mental activities are hidden and profound, and it lacks the mind consciousness's obvious functions of inference, conjecture, deliberation, analysis, imagination, fantasy, and so on; but the manas's masterfulness and decisiveness are still quite evident. When meditative concentration is insufficient, wisdom is insufficient, the mind is coarse, and even if the manas's activity is very evident, it is not easy to observe.
For example, a person who likes to lie often has two intentions: one operates on the surface and is relatively obvious; the other hides behind the scenes and operates covertly. A person's real intention is the one behind the scenes, not the surface one; the surface one merely serves as cover, making a feint to the east while attacking the west. The hidden one behind does not easily expose itself and does not let people know. Finding the one behind means finding the manas. The manas is a person's essential character, representing his moral character and personality, playing the key role.
Many people, in front of others, have two inner voices: one that can be seen by others, displayed for others to see and evaluate; and another, substantive one that they do not want others to know, deliberately hidden. When alone behind others' backs, hesitating and undecided, they also have two opinions, two kinds of thoughts, two plans, two mental activities; because these are not unified, internal war ensues. If the decision cannot be made, the internal war will last long, and then mental breakdown, schizophrenia, and hidden dangers in the body are inevitable; body and mind mutually influence and constrain each other.
Yogācāra is psychology. If one studies Yogācāra well, one can perceive the subtle and know the manifest; observing people's psychology is not difficult. But when you know someone, do not easily say it out loud, lest there be trouble and it becomes hard to get along. A person with a straightforward mind says whatever he thinks directly, without nine bends and eighteen turns, without intestines winding eight loops; a person with a devious mind hides his thoughts and does not say them directly, leads people around in circles, and after getting them dizzy, leads them into the trap he has designed, achieving his own aims.
7. Can Repentance Eradicate Karmic Offenses?
Repentance may or may not eradicate karmic offenses. Superficial repentance by the mind consciousness cannot eradicate offenses and has little effect; only deep repentance by the manas together with the mind consciousness can eradicate offenses, and to what degree they are eradicated depends on the sincerity of the manas. Because the manas's mental activities determine the karmic seeds, and the manas used the six consciousnesses to create karma and deposit seeds of unwholesome karma, only when the manas itself personally repents and changes its mental activities can part or all of the seeds of unwholesome karma be eliminated. Repentance by the mind consciousness cannot eliminate the influence of the karmic seeds; the seeds still exist, and the suffering in future lives cannot be avoided.
8. The Manas Does Not Persuade the Mind Consciousness
The mind consciousness can criticize the manas, but the manas does not criticize the mind consciousness. First, because the manas is the master consciousness with the power of decision, it can completely ignore the mind consciousness's decisions and attitudes, and can completely turn the mind consciousness around. Second, the manas has no function of language and words, so it cannot criticize, negate, or persuade the mind consciousness, and will not debate with it. If the manas is dissatisfied with the mind consciousness's views, or the mind consciousness does not understand the manas's views, or the mind consciousness does not obey the manas's will, the manas may feel uncomfortable inside, or become frantic, or become depressed; more likely, it will ignore the mind consciousness's suggestions and make decisions on its own. The manas merely needs the mind consciousness's understanding, support, and cooperation, which makes it somewhat more resolute and the heart somewhat stronger; if the mind consciousness does not understand, generally the mind consciousness must still obey.
9. The Discrimination by Eye Consciousness and Mind Consciousness Is Governed by the Manas
Question: When the eye consciousness and mind consciousness have finished viewing two very similar colors but cannot yet confirm them, doubting that they did not see clearly, they decide to look again to distinguish them clearly. Is this doubt and decision the eye consciousness's doubt and decision, the mind consciousness's doubt and decision, or the manas's doubt and decision? At a traffic intersection, upon seeing the traffic light, one decides to stop or drive. Is this decision the eye consciousness's decision, the mind consciousness's decision, or the manas's decision?
Answer: The discrimination activities of the eye consciousness and mind consciousness can only occur when driven by the manas; they are governed and directed by the manas, being the manas's tools for discriminating form objects (rūpa-viṣaya). Since this is so, the manas must understand the form objects discriminated by the eye consciousness and mind consciousness, and then make choices and decisions, whereupon the six consciousnesses will have further activity. Comparing the two colors is decided and directed by the manas; after the two consciousnesses discriminate but cannot confirm, the manas also cannot confirm; when the mind consciousness doubts the colors, the manas doubts too, and so the manas decides to discriminate again.
Discriminating and distinguishing colors is the eye consciousness's proper duty, but the eye consciousness cannot arise and discriminate alone; it must discriminate together with the consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna). The mind consciousness can discriminate the depth of colors, their names and meanings, whether they are comfortable to look at, whether they are bright, and other subtle characteristics; the eye consciousness discriminates the coarse characteristics of colors and does not know names, brightness, comfort, and so on. Therefore, regarding the five sense objects related to color, the manas can also contact and discriminate them, only its discrimination is unclear and it needs the two tools of the eye consciousness and mind consciousness.
Seeing the traffic light at an intersection is also discriminated by the eye consciousness and mind consciousness, governed and directed by the manas. On the basis of the two consciousnesses' discrimination, the manas makes its own discrimination, and then decides to stop or drive, and to turn left or right. Among these decisions, the first is the mind consciousness's decision, offered as advice to the manas; the manas then performs its own deliberation (manasikāra) and makes the decision, but it does not necessarily fully follow the mind consciousness's opinions and views.
10. The Manas's Dominating Role over the Physical Body
When a person is covered with wounds and faints from pain, yet after waking up must continue to suffer the pain, why does the manas still choose to wake up? Because the manas fears death and is extremely attached to the body, always wishing to have the activity of the five aggregates and not wishing the functions of the five aggregates to cease. When the causal conditions for the arising of the six consciousnesses are complete, the manas will certainly act as master and generate the six consciousnesses, producing the activity of the five-aggregate body. When the pain is especially severe, the damage to the body faculty is relatively great, preventing the mind consciousness from continuing to discriminate and arise, so the mind consciousness has to cease; when the body faculty recovers somewhat, the manas wants to discriminate the body's condition, and so the mind consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses arise; or when other relatively strong sense objects appear and the manas wants to discriminate them, the six consciousnesses also arise, and thus one wakes from the coma. From this we can see how attached the manas is to the five-aggregate body.
There are also people who die of joy. Why can one die at the time of great joy? The joy that the mind consciousness cannot control — the mind feels one should not be so joyful, but there is no way, it cannot be controlled — that is the manas's joy. When the mental activity of joy becomes too great, the heart's blood supply falls far short, causing the body faculty to fail to operate normally or to be damaged; then the six consciousnesses cannot function normally and eventually cease. When the manas discovers that the body faculty is damaged and unusable and the six consciousnesses can no longer arise, it decides to leave the body, abandoning it; the five aggregates die. For one who dies an accidental death, the manas is unprepared and even less willing to leave the body; but the body is smashed to pieces and there is no longer an intact physical body, so the manas can no longer hold onto the body and quickly abandons it, entering the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava) stage.
11. The Difference in Self-Confidence
Look for the manas's self-confidence within your own self-confidence, and compare: what is the difference between the mind consciousness's self-confidence and the manas's self-confidence? Then, within the manas's confidence and lack of confidence, observe the manas's self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana). Constantly improve your thinking and observation abilities, and in the future your ability for self-study and self-cultivation will be strong; you will not need to keep memorizing texts, memorizing back and forth without knowing whether what you memorized is right or wrong. Without the ability to rely on the Dharma, one has no choice but to rely on people, making it very hard for one's practice of the Path to progress.
12. The Reactions of the Manas and Mind Consciousness When Possessed by Ghosts and Spirits
At first the manas is unwilling, manifesting as discomfort, while the mind consciousness is oblivious, not knowing what is happening. Later the mind consciousness gradually understands and thinks of countermeasures, and together with the manas begins to resist strongly until the invader is driven out. The manas knows that when possessed, it is helpless; it must find a way to make the mind consciousness understand in order to deal with the possessor. Once the mind consciousness awakens, it will find ways to free itself and drive out the possessor. If the karmic force is great and the enmity with the possessor is deep, they may be entangled with each other for a whole lifetime, and may even remain entangled together in future lives.
13. Cleverness May Be Undone by Cleverness Itself
When the mind consciousness is clever and quick-witted but the manas has heavy afflictions, this is not a good sign. If the mind consciousness considers itself very clever, it will not examine its own mind, will not know to reflect, and thus cannot discover the afflictions within its own mind, cannot overcome itself and surmount obstacles — this is how cleverness is undone by cleverness itself.
14. The Characteristics of the Manas as the Master Consciousness
Inner anxiety, restlessness, and other emotional things all belong to the manas; externally they manifest as the states of the mind consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses, that is, they are displayed and vented through the six consciousnesses. Inner conflict mostly manifests as conflict between the manas and the mind consciousness; when the two differ in cognition, comprehension, and ideas, conflict arises.
Whatever the manas has, we have; whatever the manas lacks, we lack. The mind consciousness is not the master consciousness; whatever He has or lacks, as long as it does not affect the manas, is of no use. If the manas lacks the mental factor of desire (chanda), it plans to do nothing, becomes without desire and without seeking, and the mind becomes pure (viśuddha). No matter what desires the mind consciousness has, it cannot influence the manas; if the manas is unaffected, it will do nothing. But the manas does have greed and desire, called greed and lust; one who has eradicated greed and lust is a third-fruit anāgāmin possessing the meditative concentration of the first dhyāna, and in future lives can be reborn in the form realm heavens.
15. The Manas Represents the True; the Mind Consciousness Represents the False
The manas's role is so great, far exceeding the mind consciousness, whether or not the mind consciousness is present. Therefore, to see a person's real thoughts, attitudes, and aims, do not look at how well he speaks with his mouth-consciousness; look at the real thoughts and motives in his manas's heart. Some people speak dazzlingly with their mouths while their actual thoughts are exactly the opposite — such a person is extremely hypocritical. In our daily dealings with people, we should be good at observing them and understanding what their real thoughts are; do not only believe what their surface consciousness displays, but observe their inner manas. The manas is the master consciousness, representing a person's moral character and also his true cultivation.
16. Spacing Out and Staring Blankly Are States of the Manas's Deliberation
Spacing out, staring blankly, losing presence of mind — "blank" means dull and unmoving; "mind" refers to the mind consciousness. "Blank-minded" means the mind consciousness has ceased its deliberative and analytical function. Because the mind consciousness has already understood the surface, shallow meaning of the dharma but cannot solve the deeper question, it has no choice but to hand the problem over to the manas to solve, while the mind consciousness merely keeps its eye on the problem. Many major and deep problems the mind consciousness cannot solve, so it has to rely on the manas's inherent experience and wisdom from past lives. In the earlier stage, the mind consciousness works out the shallow problems and transmits them to the manas; once the manas understands the general picture, it will deliberate on the further questions on its own.
For example, upon seeing an old classmate or old colleague, the mind consciousness recognizes the person and knows who it is, but cannot say the name and cannot address the person, so much so that it cannot even greet him. At this point the mind consciousness can do nothing; the manas has to search for the person's name, deliberating and pondering continuously, while making the six consciousnesses stand tongue-tied, eyes fixed on the other person, doing nothing. During blank-mindedness, sometimes the mind consciousness also has some faint thinking activity to assist the manas's deliberation, but the mind consciousness's thinking will not be strong; otherwise, with the mind consciousness's thoughts active, one would come out of the blank-minded state.
17. The Division of Labor Between the Manas and the Mind Consciousness
Armchair strategizing is the mind consciousness's business; actual combat is the manas's business. Studying theory and understanding principles is the mind consciousness's business; actual operation is the manas's business. Studying and researching chess theory is the mind consciousness's business; facing off on the chessboard is the manas's business. Learning musical scores is the mind consciousness's business; performing on stage is the manas's business. Studying the art of painting is the mind consciousness's business; producing a painting is the manas's business. Studying finance is the mind consciousness's business; working in finance is the manas's business. Studying the theory of chef and pastry work is the mind consciousness's business; becoming a cook, stir-frying and preparing meals is the manas's business. Learning driving skills is the mind consciousness's business; driving on the road is the manas's business.
Learning mathematics, physics, and chemistry is the mind consciousness's business; applying them in actual work is the manas's business. Studying medical theory is the mind consciousness's business; healing the sick and saving lives is the manas's business. Studying agricultural techniques is the mind consciousness's business; farming in the fields is the manas's business. Studying architectural design is the mind consciousness's business; actually drawing blueprints and building houses is the manas's business. Studying politics is the mind consciousness's business; becoming a leader and statesman is the manas's business. Studying the Buddha-dharma is the mind consciousness's business; realizing enlightenment and becoming a Buddha is the manas's business. How the mind consciousness and the manas divide labor and cooperate, each performing its own duties, is a matter of precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom, and is also a considerable field of learning.
18. What Is the Difference Between the Cessation of the Six Consciousnesses in Nirvāṇa and in the Meditative Absorption of Non-Perception and the Cessation Attainment?
In nirvāṇa, not only do the six consciousnesses cease, but chiefly the manas also ceases. In the meditative absorption of non-perception (asaṃjñi-samāpatti), although the six consciousnesses cease, the manas remains, and the five universal mental factors are still operating — it is a state with mind. In the cessation attainment (nirodha-samāpatti), the six consciousnesses have ceased and the manas remains, but the manas's five universal mental factors have ceased their functions of feeling and perception — it is half-with-mind; when there is completely no mind, that is nirvāṇa.
The cessation of the six consciousnesses divides into temporary cessation and permanent cessation. In the meditative absorption of non-perception and the cessation attainment, the six consciousnesses temporarily cease because the manas temporarily does not engage with objects. But the manas has not given up the world of the five aggregates, so it will still let the six consciousnesses arise and emerge from meditative concentration. During sleep, the six consciousnesses cease because the manas needs the physical body to rest; this is temporary — as long as the manas's mind does not cease, it will let the six consciousnesses arise and wake up again.
In a coma, it is because the physical body has developed obstructions, the supreme faculty (indriya) cannot normally receive the six sense objects, and the six consciousnesses cannot continue discriminating; but the manas still wants to possess the functions of the six consciousnesses and the functions of the body, so when the body's obstruction disappears, the manas will still prompt the six consciousnesses to arise. At death, the four great elements separate, the six sense-object realms cannot be transmitted into the supreme faculty, and the functions of the six consciousnesses cannot be maintained; only then, helplessly, does the manas leave the five-aggregate body and produce the neutrino-body to continue using the functions of the six consciousnesses — this is the manas's passive behavior.
But the arising of the nirvāṇa state is because the manas no longer has any mental activities; the six consciousnesses cannot continue operating and cease, and the manas itself also ceases — this is the manas's active behavior.
The six consciousnesses are like the wind over objects, which can blow the great ocean of the Ālayavijñāna into waves of the seven consciousnesses. The realms discriminated by the mind consciousness are transmitted into the manas, which is then conditioned, giving rise to thoughts, so that the ocean of the mind surges with waves and is no longer calm. Therefore, when the mind consciousness no longer continues discriminating, the manas settles into purity and gradually turns toward nirvāṇa.
It is the same principle when sentient beings are reborn in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī): in the land of bliss, the mind consciousness long has no contact with defiled realms similar to those of the Sāhā world, so the mind settles into purity and no longer conditions the manas with unwholesome dharmas; when the mind consciousness is pure, the manas is also pure. When the manas is pure and accords with the land of bliss, it will emerge from the lotus flower to see the Buddha and hear the Dharma, and awaken to non-arising.
19. The Reason the Mind Consciousness's Discriminative Wisdom Is Greater Than the Manas's
The mind consciousness's discriminative wisdom is greater than the manas's. One reason is that the mind consciousness's objects of cognition are far fewer than the manas's; He is not the master consciousness and need not take charge of anything, so He has not so many concerns, can easily concentrate on thinking about problems, and discriminates realms relatively clearly. The manas has many dharmas to engage with, be concerned about, and discriminate: whatever dharmas the tathāgatagarbha produces, the manas can engage with them all; all things past and present related to oneself, and every minute change of the body faculty in each instant, the manas can discriminate and know; even things unrelated to itself, due to its habit of engagement, it will still engage with and worry about. Therefore its thoughts are not easily concentrated, its discriminative wisdom is weaker, and its understanding of dharmas is not clear.
Another reason the mind consciousness's wisdom is greater than the manas's is that the mind consciousness exists for only one lifetime, is only lightly conditioned by the environment, lacks the manas's many afflictions and ignorance, and lacks so many karmic obstructions; with fewer obscurations, the mind consciousness is cleverer than the manas. If the manas had fewer objects of engagement, its ignorance were not very deep and heavy, and it had not accumulated boundless karmic obstructions of birth-and-death over beginningless kalpas, then the manas could have wisdom like the mind consciousness — even with insufficient evidence, it could judge a reasonable conclusion and thereby realize the truth. But the manas is not like this, which is why our practice and realization are so difficult.
20. The Mind Consciousness's Aggregate of Perception Can Influence the Manas and Is Governed by It
The aggregate of perception belongs to the interfusing deluded thinking; because deluded thinking conjures up certain realms, the body changes in accordance with the deluded thinking. The body has not actually contacted the realms conjured by the deluded thinking — merely by the mind's thinking, the body changes — showing that the body moves according to the mind's thinking and is directed by the mind. How false and unreal is such involuntary bodily movement! Who is directing and controlling the body, as if a magician were conjuring and manipulating it? It is the manas. The body and the conscious mind are interconnected and can merge with each other; the force of mental intention can drive the body and determine its movements. Which mind's power of intention is so great and so forceful? It is the manas's mental intention that can act as master, is forceful, and can change the physical body. The mind consciousness's mental intention can only influence and change the manas; it cannot directly move or change the physical body.
The aggregate of perception mainly refers to the mind consciousness's perceiving, and the mind consciousness's perceiving is, first, governed and determined by the manas, and second, can influence and lead the manas. What is figured out through thinking is not realization; many principles can be figured out through thinking, but that is not actual realization. Therefore, after figuring something out, one still needs to realize it in practice.
When happy, one dances with joy; or the body devoutly prostrates — what is the relationship between body and mind? When the conscious mind recalls sad events, why do the eyes shed tears? When recalling things that make one angry, why does the hand clench into a fist and the heart pound? When the mood is depressed, why does the body fall ill? When the mood is joyful, why does the illness heal? These aspects of the aggregate of perception all belong to interfusing deluded thinking, also belong to random rambling thoughts, are extremely unreal, and have no real substance. "There were originally no troubles in the world; mediocre people vex themselves over them."
21. The Mind Consciousness Acts Openly While the Manas Acts Covertly
Some people act one way on the surface and another way in secret, or say one thing and do another. What creates illusions openly is the mind consciousness's thinking; what is actually done in secret is the manas's thinking. What is said is the mind consciousness's thinking; what is done accords with the manas's thinking. Therefore, in our daily dealings with people, we should be good at observation: do not look at how well the other person speaks verbally, but observe the real thoughts in his manas's heart. Some people speak dazzlingly with their mouths while their actual thoughts are exactly the opposite — such a person is extremely hypocritical and dishonest.
If a person wants to give you something, observe whether he truly wants to give it, or is giving falsely with other thoughts and aims; if the manas is unwilling to give but the mind consciousness has to give in behavior, the consequences may not be good — he will find a way to take it back. If we want something from others, observe whether they are truly willing to accept — whether the manas agrees, or only the mind consciousness is willing to accept while the manas is not. Do not only believe what their surface consciousness displays; observe their inner manas. The manas is the master consciousness, representing a person's moral character and also his true cultivation.
22. The Mind Consciousness and the Manas Condition Each Other with Afflictions
Question: When I observe that an affliction is about to arise in my mind, afterward the mind consciousness really does feel irritated; everything the mind consciousness thinks of is negative energy and very pessimistic, and depression appears. Is this affliction produced by the manas?
Answer: From what you describe, it is indeed that the manas first has the affliction, then prompts the mind consciousness to arise at the affliction, to know the affliction, to feel the affliction, and then to display the affliction and emotions — this is the manas conditioning the mind consciousness. After the mind consciousness knows a dharma, it may produce its own affliction, and then condition the manas, making the manas also tainted with the affliction — this is the mind consciousness conditioning the manas.
The mind consciousness arises from the contact of the manas with the mental sense-object (dharma-viṣaya); after contact, when there is a wish to act, the mind consciousness arises. Where does the mind consciousness's affliction come from? One source is from the manas; the other is from the mind's arising toward sense objects. How does the mind consciousness's affliction come from the manas? After the manas contacts a sense object and gives rise to an affliction, wanting to vent it or display it, it will regulate the mind consciousness, prompting the mind consciousness to vent afflictive emotions and create afflictive karma; thus the mind consciousness manifests afflictions such as hatred, greedy attachment, and so on.
The second source of the mind consciousness's affliction is that after the mind consciousness contacts and discriminates sense objects, it may give rise to afflictions. When the mind consciousness develops an affliction and wants to act, it transmits the idea to the manas; if the manas is beguiled but has not given rise to the affliction, it will passively consent to the mind consciousness creating afflictive karma and venting emotions; if the manas is beguiled and infected by the mind consciousness and also gives rise to the affliction, it will actively prompt the mind consciousness to create afflictive karma and vent emotions. If the manas is not beguiled by the mind consciousness, it will not permit the mind consciousness to create afflictive karma.
Therefore, when sentient beings give rise to afflictions, sometimes it is the mind consciousness's affliction alone, sometimes the manas's affliction alone, and sometimes an affliction arising jointly from the manas and the mind consciousness. When the mind consciousness alone gives rise to an affliction, it can quickly recede and disappear and is easily transformed; if the manas gives rise to an affliction on its own, it is hard to calm down, hard to persuade and transform, hard to subdue. If the manas and the mind consciousness give rise to an affliction together, afflictive karma will certainly be created; at that time there is no controller of emotions, and things will become uncontrollable.
23. Which Mind's Intention Is Effective?
In practicing qigong, using intention to guide the qi, move the qi, gather the qi, and use the qi — all of this is the manas's intention. When the manas intends the qi to gather at the Laogong acupoint in the palm, and when the qi is strong to a certain degree, then intends to extend the hand and strike the qi out — for one whose skill has matured, mountains collapse and walls fall, trains halt, cars reverse — this is purely qigong. But whether qigong or any other practice, all of it is training the manas's power of intention; when intention is strong, mental force is strong; when qi is strong, energy is strong, and then one can do as one pleases and be invincible.
Someone will say: the manas has no intention; it is all the mind consciousness's intention. Fine — you try intending with your mind consciousness: does the tathāgatagarbha regard you and comply with you? Is the intention effective? Can it produce results? Qigong intended by the mind consciousness has no power at all, is of no use whatsoever — flowery fists and embroidered legs, mere decoration.
The qi follows the intention — it follows the manas's intention, not the mind consciousness's intention. Otherwise, everyone's mind consciousness could intend, yet those who succeed in training the qi are extremely few, and it takes a very long time of practice to succeed. Why does it take so long? Because one uses the mind consciousness to train the manas; the mind consciousness is easy, the manas is not easy. The main difference among sentient beings lies in the manas; all mind consciousnesses can think and intend, but it is useless.
24. Which Consciousness Performs the Function of Thinking?
Thinking divides into shallow-level thinking and deep-level thinking. Shallow-level thinking is the mind consciousness thinking alone, somewhat like a fleeting glance at flowers from horseback; deep-level thinking is the mind consciousness and the manas thinking together, which requires meditative concentration. If concentration is insufficient, thinking stays only on the surface of the mind consciousness and cannot reach the manas; then one cannot truly think things through, cannot truly solve problems, and the doubts in the mind still cannot be resolved.
25. The Difference in Mental Activities Between the Mind Consciousness and the Manas
Sentient beings' psychological states divide into the mind-consciousness level and the manas level — two levels, one shallow and one deep. The mind consciousness itself is passive; if He wants to be the master, He must influence the manas over; only after conditioning succeeds will the manas comply with the mind consciousness's ideas and make corresponding decisions. If the mind consciousness cannot successfully condition the manas, the manas will act as master according to its own past habits, and the mind consciousness's thoughts and suggestions have no effect.
From what are all the mind consciousness's mental activities and actions produced? Why does the mind consciousness arise? Because after the manas contacts the mental sense-object and needs detailed analysis and judgment, the tathāgatagarbha cooperates and gives rise to the mind consciousness. When the manas wants to act, it necessarily lets the mind consciousness arise to help it act, because the manas itself cannot act in certain dharmas and at that time needs the mind consciousness to act on its behalf.
Take anger as an example to see the difference between the mind consciousness's and the manas's mental activities: the behavior manifested when the mind consciousness is angry — from what is it produced? It is produced from the manas's anger. The manas wants to vent or display its rage, so it borrows the mind consciousness or the six consciousnesses to express the inner indignation; at that time the six consciousnesses display bodily and verbal actions of fury. Anger has many manifestations, such as ferocious facial expressions, harsh speech, clenching and swinging fists, pointing fingers at the other, and so on — all these are created jointly by the mind consciousness and the body consciousness, all created in compliance with the manas's mental activities, expressing the manas's mental activities.
But after creating the karma of hatred, the reactions of the two differ markedly. The mind consciousness is relatively versed in principles and can immediately introspect on whether these behaviors are good or bad, feeling that the previous behavior was indeed wrong; why it was wrong can be figured out with a moment's thought. Although the mind consciousness has figured it out, the manas has not yet understood and is still angry inside, fuming. The mind consciousness then persuades: "Forget it, don't be angry anymore; it was our own fault to begin with." But the manas still does not understand and keeps on being angry.
When the manas is especially furious, the mind consciousness cannot control it at all. For example, when the manas is enraged to the extreme and wants to hit someone, the mind consciousness on one side feels hitting is wrong, yet the body on the other side uncontrollably goes to hit. The mind consciousness cannot control the manas; He will act according to His own habits, and there is nothing to be done. The six consciousnesses can only serve as accomplices, performing these actions on the manas's behalf — this is the behavior manifested when the mind consciousness, unable to persuade the manas, complies with the manas's mental activities.
26. The Difference in Karmic Actions Between the Mind Consciousness and the Manas
To distinguish how karma created by the manas differs from karma created by the mind consciousness, one must see whether the karma accords with the manas's mental activities or the mind consciousness's mental activities. Generally, the karmic actions created by the mind consciousness all accord with the manas, because it is the manas that prompts the mind consciousness to create karma; the karma created by the mind consciousness is karma created by the manas. Only when the manas lets the mind consciousness create karma can the mind consciousness create it; if the manas does not let it, the mind consciousness cannot create karma — this is in the general case.
There is another situation: when the mind consciousness's power is extremely strong and turns the manas around, it can force the manas to act as master and create karmic actions according to the mind consciousness's ideas, and the manas has to obey the mind consciousness's will in making the choice. At this time, the karma created with the manas as master accords with the mind consciousness's mental activities; the mind consciousness analyzes the reasons for the matter in a well-ordered way with ample justification, and thus turns the manas around.
At this point the manas's power is not as strong as the mind consciousness's, so the manas makes the decision following the mind consciousness's thinking; on the surface the manas is the master, but in fact the mind consciousness has become the master, and the bodily, verbal, and mental actions accord with the mind consciousness's mental activities — this karma is created primarily by the mind consciousness. If the manas is completely persuaded and controlled by the mind consciousness — the mind consciousness says this is good and the manas completely agrees and endorses it — then the karma the manas directs the six consciousnesses to create belongs to karma created jointly by the manas and the mind consciousness.
If the manas's power is stronger than the mind consciousness's, and the manas disagrees with all the mind consciousness's viewpoints, opinions, and views, then the manas will certainly act as master and make the choice according to its own will; the behavior manifested will accord with the manas's own habits, and the karmic actions it prompts the six consciousnesses to create will accord with the manas's own mental activities — this situation belongs to karma created by the manas.
The levels here divide into several kinds; it is not as simple as the surface behavior we imagine, and specific situations must be specifically analyzed and treated. To observe whether a karmic action accords with the mind consciousness's mental activities or the manas's mental activities, one needs to analyze from the following aspects: see whether the mind consciousness's and the manas's mental activities are consistent. When they are consistent, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses are equally wholesome, or equally unwholesome; the karmic actions created then accord with the joint mental activities of both. If they are inconsistent, then see whether the karma was created primarily by the manas or primarily according to the mind consciousness's mental activities, distinguishing according to the specific circumstances.
27. The Difference Between the Mind Consciousness's Doubt and the Manas's Doubt
The mind consciousness's doubt is relatively shallow, existing only on the surface, not true doubt; for example, once explained, the mind understands and the doubt is dispelled. The manas's doubt is relatively deep, because the manas is the master consciousness, the master; all of the master's mental activities and choices take effect and have results. The mind consciousness is not the master; its doubt cannot play the main role and is easily dispelled. For example, if the manas doubts the wholesome dharmas it has created, this is true doubt, and it will offset part or all of the previous mental activities and karmic actions of wholesome dharma; the merit of the wholesome dharmas previously created is then gone or reduced. Because behind the manas there is the tathāgatagarbha cooperating, and the tathāgatagarbha knows all the manas's mental activities, if the manas doubts and does not believe in those merits, the tathāgatagarbha records the merits of those wholesome dharmas as reduced, and the merit decreases.
Therefore, heavy doubt is also not good. Doubt is an affliction; among the three fetters we need to eradicate, it belongs to the fetter of doubt. With doubt and indecision, birth-and-death cannot be ended. Therefore we must resolve the doubts in our minds, resolve the lack of clarity and indecision regarding the Dharma of liberation. If the manas doubts the merit it has already created, the merit will be discounted. Therefore, having created wholesome karma, we should not have any doubt; we must recognize from the heart that this is wholesome karma, and in the future we will certainly obtain wholesome results accordingly.
At the time of our death, if the mind is moment after moment on the unwholesome karma created in this life, the tathāgatagarbha will cooperate and let this seed of unwholesome karma ripen early, and we will be drawn by the unwholesome karma to receive unwholesome retribution. We should adjust our thoughts, keeping the mind constantly on all the wholesome karma created in this life; the unwholesome karma created should be earnestly repented and purified before death; if it truly cannot be repented, then even before death one should not let the unwholesome karma form a strong thought in the mind — try not to think of it, but think of wholesome karma instead. Then the tathāgatagarbha may (not certainly) prevent the seeds of unwholesome karma from ripening and let the seeds of wholesome karma ripen instead.
This means that the thoughts at the time of death are the heart's wishes, and the tathāgatagarbha will cooperate with you to make this thought and wish come true. Therefore, as long as at death we have only wholesome wishes — the wish to be reborn in the land of bliss — the tathāgatagarbha will cooperate and let us be reborn in the land of bliss. If the thought at our death is not good and corresponds to this life's unwholesome karma, then the retribution of unwholesome karma will manifest, and we may go to the three evil destinies. If at death one doubts the land of bliss or doubts Amitābha Buddha, one cannot reach the land of bliss; even if one barely gets there, it is to the borderland city of doubt in the land of bliss, not seeing the Buddha and not hearing the Dharma, until the doubting mind and doubting karma are eliminated. Therefore the thought at the time of death is the most important and most effective.
28. The Meaning of the Manas Silently Accommodating All Dharmas
"Silently" means quietly, soundlessly, in the dark, secretly. This is the manas's characteristic: the manas is just like this — silently unknown to people, soundless, quiet, in the dark. "Accommodating" means permitting, co-containing, together with, containing, tolerating. This shows that the manas contains everything, permits all dharmas to exist, coexists with all dharmas, operates together with them, and tolerates and receives the manifestation of all dharmas. This meaning also says that wherever all dharmas exist, there is the manas; the manas is forever together with all dharmas, operating in common with them.
The mind consciousness, however, does not silently accommodate all dharmas and cannot exist and operate together with all dharmas. Thus the arising and operation of many dharmas have nothing to do with the mind consciousness, are not directed or controlled by it; the mind consciousness has no authority to control the arising of all dharmas. Only the eighth consciousness and the manas are forever together with all dharmas, operating in common; and the eighth consciousness has no mental activities or characteristics of directing and manipulating, no masterfulness — this proves that only the manas has the authority to control and be master over everything; its sense of "my mind and my nature" is very heavy, and therefore the karma of birth-and-death is also heavy.
29. From Which Consciousness Do Concepts and Experience Arise?
Concepts exist only in the mind consciousness; the mind consciousness corresponds with concepts, while the five sense consciousnesses, the manas, and the eighth consciousness have no concepts of dharmas, because the mind consciousness corresponds with the characteristics of dharmas and has the ability to deliberate, analyze, generalize, and summarize, which the other consciousnesses lack.
Experience is the wisdom-cognition accumulated in the course of encountering corresponding dharmas. The five sense consciousnesses have experience of the five sense-object realms; the mind consciousness has experience of mental sense-objects; the six consciousnesses' experience lasts only one lifetime and is subject to forgetting. The manas, however, accumulates experience from life after life, which does not perish and can be quickly deployed at critical moments to protect its own safety and interests. The eighth consciousness, though imperishable life after life, has no memory and no such thing as experience, because its wisdom is fixed and dharmata-such — neither increasing nor decreasing — so it has no experience and needs no experience, yet it can still operate all dharmas in an orderly and normal way.
30. The Relationship Between the Manas's Spontaneous Operation and the Mind Consciousness's Searching and Examining
"Spontaneous operation" means the conscious mind operates automatically and spontaneously in accordance with nature and conditions, never obstructed by human interference so as to be halted. Among the eight consciousnesses, only the eighth consciousness and the manas are conscious minds that turn spontaneously; the six consciousnesses are not — the six consciousnesses are restricted by the manas, and there are very many times when they cannot operate. Therefore the six consciousnesses are not spontaneously turning consciousnesses.
"Searching and examining" (vitarka-vicāra) refers to the mind consciousness's activities of seeking, pondering, deliberating, investigating, and researching, either alone or leading the five sense consciousnesses, in order to resolve the doubts or some problem in the manas's mind. Therefore the searching and examining of the mind consciousness or the six consciousnesses is directly guided by the manas: if the manas tells it to search east, the mind consciousness searches east; if west, it searches west; beforehand the mind consciousness may offer suggestions for the manas's reference and decision.
Although the manas cannot by itself have the activities of a five-aggregate body, the manas has subordinates and helpers who can do many things for it, so the manas uses them. A leader's affairs are busy and he cannot personally do specific things, so he must arrange for subordinates to do them — this is perfectly natural; the six consciousnesses completing the manas's instructions as required is also their bounden duty — such is their responsibility.
The eighth consciousness has no behavior of searching and examining, nor any mental activities of searching and examining, because the eighth consciousness is an unconditioned mind that does not take charge; there is nothing on its mind, everything is unrelated to it, so there is no need to search for or examine anything. In the operation of all dharmas, the manas, because of its ignorance and broad engagement, has very coarse cognition of everything and often encounters things it cannot understand; even relying on the six consciousnesses, there are many dharmas it does not understand. In order to understand, it must give rise to the searching-and-examining mind to investigate, and needs the six consciousnesses to complete the task of investigation. Therefore the spontaneously turning manas is precisely the initiator, supervisor, and director of the six consciousnesses' searching-and-examining behavior, and the results are enjoyed by the manas.
31. The Mind Consciousness Is Not the Master Consciousness
Question: The Verses on the Structure of the Eight Consciousnesses say "moving the body and emitting speech, it alone is foremost," and speak of the deliberating volition, the deciding volition, and the motivating volition — do these all say that the mind consciousness is the master consciousness?
Answer: None of these says the mind consciousness is the master consciousness. "Moving the body and emitting speech" means the mind consciousness can, together with the body consciousness, move the body and create bodily karma, and can, together with the body consciousness, produce vocal sounds and create verbal karma; for bodily and verbal karma, the mind consciousness's function is greatest and primary, with the body consciousness as auxiliary and weaker in function.
The deliberating volition, deciding volition, and motivating volition describe the mind consciousness's volition mental factor. Although the mind consciousness has these functions of the volition mental factor and can make decisions, whether its decisions ultimately have their due effect still depends on whether the manas accepts them and the degree of acceptance. For example, a child decides to buy a toy; whether the purchase is ultimately made depends on whether his parents agree, because the money is held by the parents, who have the decision-making power over spending. For example, a staff subordinate decides to launch a military exercise, but whether the matter is ultimately accomplished is decided by the chief and the commander-in-chief; the staff subordinate merely offers a suggestion — whether it is heeded is up to the leader.
The mind consciousness exists to serve the manas. The manas can be the master of the mind consciousness; if the manas does not need the mind consciousness's service, it does not decide to give rise to the mind consciousness — then there is no appearance of the mind consciousness, and there is no question of being master or making decisions. The five sense consciousnesses also have the volition mental factor and can make decisions, but their decisions are even weaker than the mind consciousness's; whether they work or are heeded all depends on the manas. Then, after the manas acts as master and decides, whether it can be accomplished still depends on the eighth consciousness; without karmic seeds and merit, even the eighth consciousness is powerless. Therefore, for the manas to act as master and accomplish things and give rise to dharmas, there are also preconditions — it is not that whatever the manas wants to do, it can accomplish.
