Chapter Four: The Governing Nature of Manas

I. The grasping and governing nature of manas is manifested in its pervasive discrimination, attachment to all dharmas, and its constant exertion of control everywhere. When the eye faculty contacts external form, the tathāgatagarbha transforms the external form into internal form within the subtle faculty. Manas grasps the form, directs attention to it, determines, and subtly discerns it. The tathāgatagarbha then gives rise to eye consciousness and mental consciousness to discern the internal form object. Eye consciousness first discerns apparent colors such as blue, yellow, red, white, light and shadow, brightness and darkness, clouds, mist, smoke, dust, etc. Mental consciousness almost simultaneously discriminates the form colors, indicative colors, and unmanifested colors on the form. For example, when facing a person, discerning the other person's skin color and the color of their clothes is the eye consciousness discerning apparent colors; discerning the other person's height, build, fatness, thinness, hair length, etc., is mental consciousness discerning form colors; discerning bodily movements such as bending, stretching, bowing, leaning, welcoming, seeing off, etc., is mental consciousness discerning indicative colors; discerning the other person's gender appearance, age, beauty, ugliness, temperament, cultivation, culture, personality, temper, etc., is mental consciousness discerning unmanifested colors.

When eye consciousness sees form, it first receives and accepts it; afterwards, eye consciousness has a simple sensation without emotional coloring, while the sensation of mental consciousness carries emotional coloring. After sensation comes perception (saṃjñā), which is the discernment, discrimination, and grasping of appearances; the next step is volition (cetanā), involving deliberation and choice. Eye consciousness deliberates and chooses whether to approach or avoid the colors; mental consciousness judges, analyzes, reasons, deliberates, and chooses whether to continue discerning the mental object or to avoid it. Finally comes mental formation (saṃskāra), deciding to act, producing the next behavior. For example, the seeds of eye consciousness flow out one by one at the location of the colors; the seeds of mental consciousness flow out one by one at the location of the mental objects; mental factors continuously change. The result of the discernment operation at each subtle stage is transmitted to manas, which must then make a decision at each small stage about what to do next. For instance, when eye consciousness sees form, whether to continue discerning it is decided by manas; whether mental consciousness continues to feel is decided by manas; where to focus attention is decided by manas; which aspect to analyze is decided by manas; after seeing, how to treat and handle it is decided by manas.

If manas does not grasp the form object, it will not direct attention to it again. Then eye consciousness and mental consciousness regarding this form object will disappear and not reappear. That is, the mind does not move nor discriminate upon the eye contacting form; it merely contacts it briefly, without attaching to appearances, without proceeding further to discern, without generating thoughts or feelings, without becoming interested in this form object and giving rise to sensation. This is the state of an Arhat; it is the state of a true practitioner. However, for Bodhisattvas, they do not concern themselves with these; knowing that all are transformations of their own mind, entirely illusory, they do not cling at all. They use things if needed, because Bodhisattvas know that form is the nature of the tathāgatagarbha and cannot defile their own mind.

II. The tathāgatagarbha delivers consciousness seeds to the seventh consciousness (manas), enabling it to manifest and function. Therefore, the seventh consciousness is born from the tathāgatagarbha. The seventh consciousness is the governing consciousness; it possesses a nature of exercising control. All dharmas are governed by it; it has the final say. When it makes a decision, the tathāgatagarbha complies and cooperates with it. Thus, superficially, it appears to control the tathāgatagarbha and govern the world. Whatever it wants to do, the tathāgatagarbha complies, because the tathāgatagarbha is a compliant mind without self-will.

However, in reality, the tathāgatagarbha is the true master of the three realms. If causes and conditions are absent, if karmic seeds are lacking, or if conditions are not sufficient, even if the tathāgatagarbha wishes to comply with the seventh consciousness, it cannot. Therefore, ultimately, all matters comply with karma. Karmic conditions are manifested by the tathāgatagarbha; karmic seeds are delivered by the tathāgatagarbha. The seventh consciousness cannot determine the arising of karmic seeds. Sometimes the seventh consciousness wishes to oppose karmic conditions, but it has no means to do so; it cannot resist and can only comply with the karmic conditions. Thus, the master of the three realms is still the tathāgatagarbha.

Superficially, it seems the seventh consciousness controls the tathāgatagarbha and manipulates all dharmas. But in reality, who controls whom? All dharmas are manifested by the tathāgatagarbha. Without seeds, the tathāgatagarbha would not comply and manifest any dharma. Based on karmic seeds, the tathāgatagarbha manifests adverse conditions, opposing conditions, and favorable conditions. The seventh consciousness cannot control the arising of favorable or adverse conditions. Therefore, the seventh consciousness inevitably endures the immeasurable suffering of birth and death in the three realms; it still cannot govern the karma of birth and death. All dharmas are still produced by the tathāgatagarbha complying with karmic conditions.

For example, if manas wishes to become wealthy, but in previous lives it did not create this meritorious karma, or the tathāgatagarbha does not store this karmic seed, or the karmic seed is not mature, then the tathāgatagarbha cannot manifest wealth; it cannot make you a millionaire or billionaire. You wish for a smooth, wish-fulfilling life, and the tathāgatagarbha also cooperates with you, but without the karmic seeds for such fulfillment, the tathāgatagarbha still cannot grant your wishes. Moreover, misfortunes and adverse circumstances may arise; various obstructive conditions may manifest. No matter how much the seventh consciousness governs, no matter how unwilling it is for negative conditions to appear, ultimately the tathāgatagarbha is the master; the tathāgatagarbha is the true master of the three realms.

Although the tathāgatagarbha is the master, the true governor, nothing arises because the tathāgatagarbha governs it. The tathāgatagarbha has never had a mind activity of commanding, ordering, or governing, because it is not a governing mind; it has no self-nature, does not believe in the existence of a self, and therefore does not issue commands or direct all dharmas. It is precisely the seventh consciousness, manas, that has self-nature and thus issues commands and seeks to govern.

III. Only the tathāgatagarbha, which is unarisen and unceasing, inherently existent, not produced by other dharmas, possesses inherent nature. It does not need to be born, nor can it be destroyed. It is not governed by other dharmas, nor does it govern itself; it is free and at ease. The tathāgatagarbha does not know of a self; it is without self-nature. Therefore, it does not need to dominate other dharmas to conform to its own will; it also has no will, merely complying, complying with causes, conditions, and karmic seeds. Nevertheless, the tathāgatagarbha is free and at ease. No one can annihilate it, no one can produce it, no one can determine its fate, no one can make the tathāgatagarbha have greed, hatred, or delusion, no one can make the tathāgatagarbha have birth and death, no one can defile the tathāgatagarbha.

In contrast, the governing nature of manas is extremely intense. It not only seeks to govern the six consciousnesses and its own five aggregates, but also desires to govern others, constantly wanting to control others' thoughts, speech, and actions—seeking to control everything and everyone it can come into contact with to suit its own will. Regardless of who the other party is, their status, whether they are one's parents, children, teachers, superiors, subordinates, friends, relatives, or neighbors—it seeks to control and govern them all. Those with severe self-attachment even wish to control sages and virtuous people, harboring a twisted mentality of "those who comply with me prosper, those who oppose me perish," seeking to dominate the world. Not only do they want their own world to be governed by their say, but they also want others' worlds to be governed by their say as much as possible. Such individuals have severely mistaken grasping by manas; they endure immeasurable suffering life after life, find liberation very difficult, and their path of cultivation is extremely long.

IV. Manas, the seventh consciousness, is the consciousness that governs sentient beings. What we do every second, every instant, is decided by manas; when one thing is finished, what to do next is decided by manas; what to do tomorrow, next year, in this lifetime—all are decided by manas. Whatever manas intends to do, the tathāgatagarbha knows and subsequently cooperates to accomplish it. If manas wants to see form, the tathāgatagarbha delivers the consciousness seeds of eye consciousness and mental consciousness, causing eye consciousness and mental consciousness to simultaneously discriminate the form object, and thus we see and discriminate the form object. The other faculties also contact their respective objects, and the tathāgatagarbha gives rise to the corresponding consciousnesses, delivering consciousness seeds to each, enabling us to hear, smell, taste, and touch. What to do next is still decided by manas; the six consciousnesses act separately according to manas's direction.

V. The governing nature of manas is inherent and natural (法尔如是). As long as this consciousness exists, it must govern; this is unrelated to seeds or karmic seeds. When the tathāgatagarbha delivers consciousness seeds, manas manifests and functions. Once manifested, it governs constantly, everywhere—this is its inherent nature, fundamentally so. Therefore, it cannot be said that the tathāgatagarbha controls it, nor that seeds control it; it inherently possesses this nature, this function, born this way, naturally so, without reason to explain.

However, manas is also subject to the influence of karmic force and karmic seeds. That is, its past actions performed due to ignorance are stored within the tathāgatagarbha. When karmic seeds manifest, manas is subject to karmic force and manifests the afflictions and habits from the past. For example, if in past lives it liked food, in this life it manifests as gluttony; if in past lives it loved music, in this life it enjoys melodies; if in past lives it was combative, in this life when encountering conditions it cannot help but engage in conflict, etc. However, karmic seeds can be changed. Through cultivation and habituation, karmic seeds can be altered. Once the karmic seeds change, manas itself discards certain habits and is no longer as before.

The governing and decision-making nature of manas relies, on one hand, on the analysis, judgment, and discernment content provided by the first six consciousnesses for deliberation before making decisions and choices. If the first six consciousnesses are not manifesting and discerning the six objects, manas cannot discern the specific situation of the six objects. For example, if one needs to go to a certain place now but does not know whether to go east or west, manas cannot make a choice. The sixth consciousness clearly judges the directions east and west, whether the destination can be reached, what landmarks are on the way, etc., analyzes everything clearly, then transmits this information to manas. Manas deliberates based on this and finally decides whether to go east or west. Without the information report from the first six consciousnesses, manas cannot decide the direction.

Therefore, the first six consciousnesses can also influence manas and habituate it. Through this habituation, manas can be changed, its ignorance and defilements removed, ultimately enabling Buddhahood. Without the habituation from the first six consciousnesses, we would forever remain in the darkness of ignorance, never attaining Buddhahood. Because manas has existed since beginningless time, and since beginningless time has possessed ignorance, greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, doubt, and wrong views—naturally so, it is inherently like this. It cannot awaken by itself; it can only rely on the six consciousnesses understanding the principles to awaken it.

VI. The apparent colors discerned by eye consciousness cannot directly become seeds deposited in the tathāgatagarbha. They must still be processed by mental consciousness and manas to become seeds before being deposited in the tathāgatagarbha. Only through their joint discernment can the entire process become seeds stored in the tathāgatagarbha. Eye consciousness cannot discern apparent colors alone; therefore, it cannot become seeds. Mental consciousness must cooperate to jointly discern form colors, indicative colors, and unmanifested colors. Only when they together completely discern the form object and transmit it to manas can manas deposit it into the tathāgatagarbha, becoming karmic seeds.
    The discernment of the form object by eye consciousness and mental consciousness is first decided by manas. If manas does not direct attention, does not choose, does not govern the discernment of the form object, the tathāgatagarbha cannot give rise to eye consciousness and mental consciousness cooperating to jointly discern the form object. Secondly, during the discernment process, manas also directs the discernment of eye consciousness and mental consciousness instant by instant—whether to continue discerning, interrupt discerning, or shift the object of discernment—all decided by manas. Manas's governing decisions may also be based on the information transmitted instant by instant by eye consciousness and mental consciousness. Manas discerns the information, makes a judgment, then instant by instant decides whether to continue discerning. In this process, the process and result of discernment by eye and mental consciousness, plus the process and judgment result of discernment by manas, as well as the mental activities of each consciousness, as formless seeds, are also deposited instant by instant into the tathāgatagarbha, waiting for conditions to ripen before being delivered and manifested.

Manas is the relay station and hub connecting the six consciousnesses and the tathāgatagarbha; it is the driver of all dharmas. Without the driving force of manas, the tathāgatagarbha rests, abiding in the quiescent state of Nirvana without residue, not producing any dharmas.

VII. Changes in the physical body such as aging, sickness, and death are primarily manifested by the tathāgatagarbha according to karma. Manas mostly cannot control them, and moreover, manas would not willingly govern the aging, sickness, and death of the body. Relying on the tathāgatagarbha, manas can at any time and place make extremely coarse discernments about the body's condition. We mistakenly believe it has the ability to choose regarding bodily changes, but in reality, it still must comply with karma, with the tathāgatagarbha leading the continuous changes in the body's state. Manas itself also lacks inherent nature; it cannot determine its own existence and must be produced and sustained by the tathāgatagarbha.

Manas has the habitual force from beginningless time. For extraordinarily major, critical, or urgent matters, it can decide and act directly without the analysis, judgment, or thinking of mental consciousness. For example, while driving, if encountering a car rushing head-on, mental consciousness has no time to think, yet one can urgently brake or quickly swerve; if a bug falls on the body, one shakes it off immediately without consideration. This is the rapid reaction of manas after discerning the body's condition.

VIII. Why can manas realize dreams? Why can it turn fantasies into reality? Because the tathāgatagarbha supports it from behind, able at any time to provide the seven great seeds and karmic seeds to transform and create all dharmas, enabling manas to realize its dreams. The body's well-being depends on manas. Adjusting the mindset of manas properly will naturally lead to physical health. Manas is also called emotional disposition; it can influence the physical body. Because the tathāgatagarbha follows behind, it complies with the intent of manas.

Providing manas with positive, uplifting things is far better than giving it negative information. Habituating manas with more positive things will make it proactive, striving, and ambitious, realizing grand ideals and goals. The dark aspects of society, others' mistakes—mention and report them as little as possible, so manas is not tainted. Report more positive information, encourage the public more, criticize less—this will habituate manas to positive, uplifting concepts. Then manas will transform positive beliefs into reality.

IX. Those who gain the people's hearts gain the world; those who lose the people's hearts lose the world. No one should make enemies of the whole world or oppose anyone. The manas of one person may lack power, but the combined manas of many people is very powerful. Those who are antagonized will inevitably suffer. As the saying goes, "The spittle of the masses can drown a person"—this is the principle. The power of a practitioner's manas is greater than that of ordinary people; the manas of those with meditative concentration is greater than that of ordinary people; the manas of those with an upright mind is greater than that of ordinary people; the manas of those with great wholesome karma is greater than that of ordinary people. Therefore, do not oppose truly cultivated people; do not oppose upright and virtuous people—this is the way of the wise.

X. The Governing Nature of Manas

When an itch appears, the brain issues the command "scratch." If this command cannot be implemented, nerve regulation becomes disordered, and the body finds another way, making muscles twitch to relieve the itch by itself.

Does the brain issue any command at all? Is it manas or the tathāgatagarbha that issues the command? It is the result of manas mobilizing. Does the body find a way? Is it manas or the tathāgatagarbha that devises the method? It is manas that devises the method. The tathāgatagarbha does not issue commands nor devise methods. At this moment, mental consciousness has not yet arisen; it is not mental consciousness issuing the command nor devising the method. Even if mental consciousness exists, the autonomous behavior of the body's neurons—occurring even during sleep—mental consciousness cannot participate in or assist. The phenomenon of leg cramps—mental consciousness realizes it belatedly. The various reactions of the body during deep coma—none involve mental consciousness. When a mosquito suddenly bites, mental consciousness doesn't even have time to think; fearfully, one slaps it immediately. Here, there is absolutely no thinking, analysis, or decision by mental consciousness; mental consciousness doesn't even know a mosquito is biting.