Chapter Four: The Function and Role of Manas

I. The Function of Manas in Receiving and Processing Information

It is introduced in some materials that the brain receives a vast amount of information every second but can only process a very small portion of it. If it were to process all this information, the brain would be overwhelmed. To function normally, the brain automatically filters information, ignoring information it does not care about or finds trivial, focusing only on some useful and important information. Since each person's focus differs, the phenomena observed from the same information also differ, leading to different attitudes and methods of handling it. How can one remember key points and themes when encountering problems, enhance wisdom, and solve problems? The answer is to actively pose questions to the brain. These questions should point to the core and key points of the problem, as well as the methods for solving it. This way, the brain will think in these directions and solve the problem.

What is the brain? Ordinary people do not understand that the brain is material form (rūpa) and lacks the function of cognitive mind. What they generally refer to as the brain is actually manas. It is manas, not the brain nor consciousness, that receives vast amounts of information and selectively processes it. This is because consciousness has not yet arisen at this stage; the information falls to manas, which lacks the capacity and energy to face and process all the information. It can only screen for information that is useful and relatively important to itself. Only after this selection does consciousness arise to help manas process the information.

The nature of manas silently containing all dharmas and its sovereignty over all dharmas can thus be seen. All dharmas certainly include the five dusts (objects) of form, sound, smell, taste, and touch, as well as the six dusts (including the dharma-dust). If manas only contacts the dharma-dust and not the five dusts, where would the information of the five dusts fall? Who would receive and screen it? Who would decide how to handle it? After manas preliminarily screens the five dusts, the five consciousnesses arise to recognize and process the five dusts. Therefore, manas has the authority to decide and process the five dusts and the five consciousnesses.

It is manas that automatically filters information and automatically focuses on useful information related to itself. This is the preliminary screening stage for vast amounts of information. At this time, consciousness has not yet arisen; it is unaware and unconscious of manas’s activities and all information. Thus, consciousness does not participate, decide, or have sovereignty; it can only passively accept the information given to it by manas, being dominated and regulated by manas. If manas does not filter and screen information, it cannot cope with the vast amount of information and may even collapse. Even after screening, the remaining information is enormous and difficult to handle entirely. This causes manas to simultaneously perceive an extremely large number of dharmas, making it unable to concentrate on processing this information and thus appearing unwise.

How can manas generate wisdom? Naturally, it must continuously filter and reduce useless information, attending only to the information that should be processed at the present moment and ignoring everything else. Only when concentration is achieved can it wisely process the attended information. However, achieving concentration is very difficult and requires continuous training through meditative cultivation (dhyāna), enabling manas to firmly fixate on one dharma for contemplation.

It is also manas that remembers key information and themes, paying attention to and considering them. This is the functional role of the sovereign consciousness that can receive all information. When these functions of manas operate, consciousness is unaware and cannot participate. Only after manas remembers the information can it consider how to handle it, deciding whether to discard it or deepen its understanding. If it wishes to deepen understanding, the six consciousnesses will arise and recognize this information. After recognition, manas understands and will decide again how to face and handle it. From this, it can be seen that it is manas that makes decisions and is sovereign at every stage, while the six consciousnesses perform the specific recognition and analysis, subordinate to manas.

Who poses questions to the brain? It is consciousness that poses questions to manas; it is consciousness that wants manas to consider, select, and process vast amounts of information, focusing on key and useful information. Posing questions is not something manas can do because questions involve silent language, text, and sound, which manas does not correspond to. Manas can only hint to consciousness, and consciousness is unconsciously directed. What worldly people describe as the brain that can receive and process information refers to manas. What can temporarily store information is the subtle sense faculty (indriya). Manas can contact, know, and process the dharmas within the subtle sense faculty. The Śūraṅgama Sūtra states that manas silently contains all dharmas and has extensive clinging tendencies, which is fully revealed in this material.

Is manas busy? Does it passively receive vast amounts of information or actively receive it? It does both. Actively receiving vast amounts of information is called extensive clinging. Passively receiving it is unavoidable because when karmic seeds mature, the tathāgatagarbha must manifest and transmit it; for example, information like illness or car accidents cannot be avoided. Active thinking, compared to passive acceptance, can better enhance wisdom. So who poses questions, who thinks, who solves problems, who enhances wisdom? Knowing what problem needs to be solved reveals who should solve it. The problem of screening and focusing on information is the responsibility of manas.

II. Why Must the Recognition of the Five Dusts by the Five Consciousnesses Be Decided by Manas?

Question: When my body itches, I can't help but want to scratch it. Then I realize: this is merely the body consciousness contacting the dust; where is the itch? Do not create karmic actions. Thus, by not attending to this place, the itch immediately disappears. If I continue to attend to it, the itch remains. If I do not attend to it again, the itch disappears again. After going back and forth twice, with a slightly longer interval in between, and then not attending to it, the itch completely disappears. Has the itch truly disappeared?

Answer: When sense faculty and object (dust) contact, consciousness arises. Once consciousness arises, it recognizes the dust-object. After recognition, sensation arises, feeling cold, heat, touch, pain, itch, etc. After that, emotions of suffering, pleasure, sorrow, joy, and equanimity arise. This is the operational sequence of the six entrances, contact, and sensation within the twelve links of dependent origination. Whether the sense faculty and object contact is decided by manas. For example, when the body itches, if manas does not attend to the itchy spot and shifts attention, then consciousness and body consciousness cannot arise at the itchy spot. The touch-dust of itch is not recognized, sensation does not arise, and thus one does not know or feel the itch. This is manas shifting attention, causing the six consciousnesses not to arise at this spot and not recognize it; it does not mean there is no itch. If manas does not shift attention, the body faculty contacts the itch touch-dust, body consciousness and consciousness arise to recognize the itch touch-dust, and one feels itchy. Afterwards, manas chooses to scratch the itch, so body consciousness and consciousness scratch the itch.

This demonstrates that manas is the sovereign consciousness, directing the contact between sense faculties and objects, governing the birth, death, coming, and going of the six consciousnesses, directing their recognition, and governing bodily, verbal, and mental actions. This also shows that whether the five sense faculties (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body) contact the five dusts (form, sound, smell, taste, touch) must be decided by manas. The recognition by the five consciousnesses must also be decided by manas. Here arises a question: Why does manas direct the birth and recognition of the five consciousnesses? Why is the recognition of the five dusts by the five consciousnesses decided by manas? Since manas can make such decisions, it must first recognize the five dusts before it can select, reject, make judgments, and decisions. This indicates that manas can recognize the six dusts, not just the dharma-dust alone. Otherwise, how could the five faculties contact the five dusts? How could the five consciousnesses arise?

III. Which Cognitive Mind Performs Perfect, Clear Knowing Without Relying on Mental Notions?

There is a sentence in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra: "In this assembly, Mahākāśyapa, having long extinguished the manas faculty, perfectly and clearly knows without relying on mental notions." Question: When it is said that Mahākāśyapa long extinguished the manas faculty, which consciousness is extinguished? What is meant by "extinguished"?

Answer: A person with the power of knowing others' minds (he who knows the minds of others) can perceive others' mental notions anytime, anywhere, as long as the other person has mental notions. If the other person is deep and has no mental notions, or if the other person has meditative concentration (dhyāna) and does not casually give rise to notions, then the other's mental notions cannot be perceived, and the power of knowing others' minds becomes useless. To which mind's notions does this "mental notion" refer?

The power of knowing others' minds perceives the mental notions of the conscious mind (consciousness) because the mental notions of consciousness have language, text, or sound (including mental sound). Thus, the mental activities of consciousness have form and are easy to recognize. However, the mental notions of manas have no language, text, or sound; they have no apparent form and are not easily recognized. Recognizing the mental activities of manas must be done through bodily, verbal, and mental actions, through the actions of the body faculty and consciousness.

So, what did Mahākāśyapa extinguish when it is said he "long extinguished the manas faculty" and was able to perfectly and clearly know without relying on mental notions? Naturally, this "mental notion" refers to the mental notions of consciousness. Mahākāśyapa's perfect, clear knowing is not through the knowing of consciousness; it is the direct knowing by manas, knowing the internal and external realms of the six dusts, directly replacing the knowing of the six consciousnesses. Therefore, what Mahākāśyapa extinguished was consciousness and the mental notions of consciousness, not manas. If manas were extinguished, Mahākāśyapa's five aggregates would cease to exist, and he would enter the state of nirvāṇa without remainder.

IV. Does Manas Possess Self-Verifying Awareness (Svasaṃvedana) and Reflective Power?

Some say manas lacks self-verifying awareness (svasaṃvedana) and reflective power; it never knows its own past, relying entirely on the observation of consciousness to know its own past. This view is very mistaken because only manas and the tathāgatagarbha continue unbroken through countless lifetimes. Manas is knowing; it can know all dharmas manifested by the tathāgatagarbha. It also corresponds to karmic seeds; from countless past lives to the present life, all dharmas it has experienced have never been forgotten. The dharmas it knows far exceed those known by consciousness. The information known by consciousness in one lifetime is far too little, incomparable to manas. Moreover, consciousness has not experienced the events of the past; how could consciousness be manas's reliance? On the contrary, consciousness often relies on manas to know many things, especially information from past lives. Consciousness entirely relies on manas to know this; this is true for those without psychic powers and equally true for those with psychic powers, without exception.

For example, when a person meets another in a certain setting, they feel this person is very kind and familiar, like a long-separated relative. Instantly, they feel emotional turmoil, unable to control themselves, even becoming so moved that tears well up. In reality, these two people were family in a past life, with deep karmic connections. Meeting in this life, they feel exceptionally close. This is absolutely not felt after consciousness knows it; consciousness knows nothing and can only know through manas; it is the one who knows belatedly, and only when consciousness has wisdom. When consciousness lacks wisdom, even if tears well up, one does not know why, remaining confused. Consciousness does not know why tears welled up; naturally, it is because manas could not control itself and tears welled up. If manas were not agitated, even if consciousness were agitated, tears would not well up, except for actors.

Another example: A person feels uncomfortable upon seeing another person, yet consciousness does not know the reason. But manas knows; it just cannot express it to make consciousness understand: "This person often speaks ill of me behind my back." Consciousness did not witness these events, so naturally it does not know. Feeling uncomfortable is certainly the result of manas alerting consciousness.

Furthermore, does manas possess reflective power and self-verifying awareness? Of course it does; this is unequivocal. A person with cultivation will have manas constantly reflecting and examining whether they have done wrong, whether they have hurt others, whether their speech and actions are appropriate and compliant, etc. A person without cultivation, when encountering major, urgent matters or very important people, will also have manas reflect and examine whether what they said and did was appropriate, whether there might be bad consequences, etc. Only the extremely ignorant might have manas lacking reflective and introspective power, often being unaware and unconscious, not even knowing when they cause major disasters.

Manas's reflection is manas's reflection; consciousness's reflection is consciousness's reflection. The two cannot substitute for each other because each has its own mental factors (caittas/cetasika) and does not share them, though they influence each other. Manas cannot take consciousness's reflection as its own and confirm it, then cease its own introspection. Even if such a situation occurs, it is only under special circumstances when manas lacks wisdom. Once manas can reflect on itself later, it will mostly regret its previous decisions. For example, suppose a person does something and forgets about it afterwards, not thinking about it again. But soon after, encountering a condition, they remember this matter and slap their thigh, saying: "I did that wrong." Is this regret consciousness's regret or manas's regret? Did consciousness reflect and discover the mistake, or did manas reflect and discover the mistake?

Here, there is no time or opportunity for consciousness to analyze; manas very quickly decides to slap the thigh, expressing regret. The faster the thigh is slapped, the more it is manas's reflection discovering the mistake, although slapping the thigh is an action co-created by consciousness and body consciousness. The harder the thigh is slapped, the more manas regrets it. It is like immediately flicking one's hand when scalded by hot water; there is no time for consciousness to analyze. If one waits for consciousness to analyze before flicking, the hand would already be severely burned, and flicking would be useless. If everything required consciousness, many things would be like a cold dish of cucumber—too late to remedy. When doing wrong, deep introspection, repentance, sincere repentance, earnest repentance, genuine repentance—these are all manas's repentance, introspection, and reflection. Consciousness's repentance is fundamentally insincere; saying but not doing refers to consciousness's untrustworthy words, this lack of sovereignty.

V. Evidence that Manas Possesses Self-Verifying Awareness

First, from the behavior of regret and remorse, it can be proven that manas possesses self-verifying awareness. Regretful behavior occurs because, when manas lacked wisdom to discern earlier, it blindly trusted consciousness's analysis and guidance and rashly made a decision. Later, manas discovered that things were not as they seemed; the initial decision was wrong, so regret arose in the mind. Manas discovering that its own decision was wrong is the functional role of manas's self-verifying awareness: observing itself and discovering its own mistaken decision.

Second, from the perspective of the transformation of manas's mental activities, manas possesses self-verifying awareness. Manas, through studying Buddhism and cultivation, constantly influenced by consciousness, gradually recognizes the truth, realizes its past ignorance, vows to correct itself, and walks the path to Buddhahood. Continuously improving self-understanding during cultivation is the functional role of manas's self-verifying awareness; continuously correcting oneself is the functional role of manas's self-verifying awareness; changing one's own mental activities, changing one's mental factors—this is the functional role of manas's self-verifying awareness.

If manas lacked reflective power and self-verifying awareness, it would be unable to correct itself. It is true that manas relies on the influence and guidance of consciousness, but ultimately, recognizing the truth and changing oneself must be done by manas itself, not consciousness. If consciousness could change manas, there would be no need to influence and guide manas; it could directly change it. "Influence" means that consciousness's thoughts and concepts are accepted and agreed upon by manas; manas also possesses the same thoughts and concepts, making correct decisions and actions based on the changed thoughts and concepts, thus changing bodily, verbal, and mental actions.

Consciousness can only change itself; it cannot change manas. If manas does not wish to change itself, it is impossible for consciousness to forcibly change it. If consciousness could forcibly change manas, then studying Buddhism, cultivation, and even attaining Buddhahood would be very easy. However, changing oneself is necessarily an active act, not a passive one. Passivity can be temporary but absolutely cannot be permanent. Otherwise, anyone could be changed by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, freed from the suffering of the six paths of rebirth, set on the path to Buddhahood, and everyone would be close to Buddhahood. But the facts are not so. This principle can be understood upon careful reflection; it is not difficult to comprehend.

VI. All Dharmas Are Without Master or Doer

Original text from the Buddha Speaks the Sūtra of the Ten Wholesome Actions: All dharmas arise assembled. Ultimately, they are without master, without self and what belongs to self. Although each follows its own karma, the manifestations differ. Yet truly, within them, there is no doer. Therefore, all dharmas are inconceivable. Their intrinsic nature is like an illusion.

Explanation: The accumulation and arising of all dharmas in the world are ultimately without a master or controller; they lack self-nature and the nature of belonging to a self. Although these dharmas arise according to their respective karmic seeds and conditions, the manifested dharmic appearances differ. Yet in the process of these dharmas arising and ceasing, there is indeed no doer. Therefore, it is said that all these dharmas are inconceivable; the intrinsic nature of dharmas is like an illusion.

The collection of dharmas is the gathering together of karmic actions, forming karmic seeds. After the karmic seeds mature, with the aid of karmic conditions, dharmas arise. Yet the arising of dharmas has no one within them acting as master, controlling the birth, abiding, change, and cessation of dharmas; there is no controller. These dharmas lack self-nature; they are without self (anātman) and do not belong to me. For example, the collection and arising of the aggregate of form (rūpa-skandha): Who causes the aggregate of form to collect and arise? The tathāgatagarbha has no mind that collects and arises; it does not control the aggregate of form. Manas is also illusory; it does not control the aggregate of form. Karmic seeds and conditions are also illusory; none have a mind that collects and arises. Yet the aggregate of form inexplicably appears. Is the aggregate of form me? It is not me because it lacks autonomy; it is empty. Does the aggregate of form belong to me? It does not belong to me because it is empty. The aggregates of sensation (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), mental formations (saṃskāra), and consciousness (vijñāna) are all like this. The six sense faculties, six dusts, and six consciousnesses are also like this.

Sentient beings A, B, C, D, although each appears in the six paths of rebirth according to their own karmic actions and karmic seeds, the manifested appearances—identity, status, merit, race, etc.—differ. Yet truly, within the manifestation, there is no doer; no one created the appearances of the six paths of rebirth for sentient beings. Therefore, A's heaven appearance is inconceivable; the intrinsic nature of the heavenly appearance is like an illusion, without a substantial heavenly being. B's human appearance is inconceivable; the intrinsic nature of the human appearance is like an illusion, without a substantial human. C's hell appearance, D's hungry ghost appearance—all are like this, inconceivable, their intrinsic nature like an illusion, without substance.

Understanding these dharmas with consciousness may not be too difficult, but consciousness can only understand the general outline, not the internal details. That is to say, consciousness cannot know the specific reasons and the specific operational circumstances of dharmas. It is like viewing flowers through mist—blurry and indistinct. Only by deeply contemplating with manas in meditative concentration (dhyāna) can one thoroughly comprehend, seeing all details without omission, knowing the reasons why, thereby truly realizing the dharmas, penetrating the source of dharmas. Then one will never again view flowers through mist or scratch an itch through a boot. For any dharma, the more manas contemplates it, the more interesting it becomes; the more one wishes to investigate and understand, the more wisdom arises, the more meditative concentration deepens. The whole person becomes as if intoxicated—this is the joy of exploring truth. Discarding the shallow understanding of consciousness and learning the deep contemplation of manas, one will become increasingly wise, with clearer thinking and logic, increasingly calm and wise. All difficult problems will no longer be difficult; they will be readily resolved.

VII. The Difference Between the Patience of Consciousness and the Patience of Manas

Any mental state, emotion, psychological activity, cognition, insight, discrimination, etc.—all functional roles of the cognitive mind—are divided into two types: those of consciousness and those of manas. Their levels of depth differ; there are certain distinctions between them; they are not entirely consistent or identical.

For example, patience is divided into the patience of consciousness and the patience of manas. Both may have patience, or only one may have patience. When manas lacks patience, the patience of consciousness does not last long. For instance, when doing something for a long time, manas loses patience and no longer wishes to continue, but consciousness is still pretending to persist. This "pretending" means the two mental states—consciousness and manas—are inconsistent; each has its own thoughts but temporarily maintains the current state. Actually, manas is planning other things. Once the plan is set, it will decide to do other things, and consciousness cannot sovereignly continue to persist. Then the patience of consciousness ends.

When consciousness lacks patience but manas has patience, although consciousness is restless and distracted, with various plans in mind, because manas persists without change and does not make other decisions, consciousness has no choice but to continue; it cannot act sovereignly. When both have patience, the attitude towards doing things remains unchanged; one can do the same thing for years like days, days like one day, without mental fatigue or slackness.

VIII. During Mental Cultivation, Is the Observer/Supervisor Manas or Consciousness?

Question: During my walking, standing, sitting, lying down, and the flow of mental notions, there is an observer, a supervisor, watching all these actions intently. Is this observer/supervisor manas or consciousness?

The questioner certainly observes and supervises themselves. Without cultivation to a certain level, one cannot supervise and observe oneself. Such awakening and self-discipline only arise after recognizing one's own afflictions and shortcomings, wishing to change oneself. Only after having this thought can one observe and supervise one's own speech, actions, and mental notions.

Generally, it is consciousness that observes and supervises oneself. This "oneself" is the five aggregates. These mental notions and bodily and verbal actions are sovereignly created by manas, although consciousness also participates, it is not consciousness that leads; consciousness participates passively most of the time. Therefore, consciousness needs to observe and understand its own mental activities, to observe and understand manas's mental activities. Why can consciousness constantly reflect on and supervise itself? It is still because manas, through cultivation, has awakened, prompting consciousness to reflect on and supervise itself. When manas is not yet awakened, it is very unwilling to deeply analyze and understand its own mental notions and activities; generally, it covers up more often.

When manas is heavily afflicted and not awakened, it always likes to deceive itself and deceive others. Since it wishes to deceive itself, how could it let consciousness reflect on and supervise itself, understand and analyze itself? Therefore, it certainly does not wish others to understand and analyze it either. Such an unawakened person fiercely protects their shortcomings. Those who protect their shortcomings also like to praise and boast about themselves. If others do not praise them, they praise themselves, elevating themselves to gain self-comfort and satisfaction. Such a person's mind is fragile, hence needing affirmation from self and others to feel secure. As long as a person has behavior protecting their shortcomings, they are unwilling to heed others' advice and suggestions. At this time, debating or advising them has little effect. Only for those willing to correctly recognize and change themselves is advice meaningful and effective, not causing annoyance or even conflict.

IX. The expression Method of Manas

Question: In a dream, two people, A and B, are conversing. A asks: "Is there a self in sensation and consciousness?" B answers: "No self." Both the question and answer are expressed by consciousness using language. Did manas participate in this Q&A?

Answer: The entire dream is presented by manas. Using person A, it poses its own doubt, aiming to have its own consciousness think and solve this problem for it. Manas needs consciousness to solve the problem because it already has doubts and wishes to resolve them, hence creating this dream.

Expressing through language and text is the function of consciousness. Behind the expression of consciousness, there is manas's decision and urging; there are manas's thoughts. Consciousness is urged by manas to express; what is expressed may be consciousness's own view, manas's view, or the shared view of both. If manas had no doubt about this question and did not wish to know the answer, it would not have this dream.

If manas already knows the answer to the question, how should it express it when the other party asks? Since manas lacks the function of language and text, to express itself, it can do so first through the language, text, and sound of consciousness, and consciousness will answer quickly without thinking, as if without using the brain, without contemplation. If it hesitates and thinks for a moment, what is expressed is generally more consciousness's own view. Second, manas may express itself through mental imagery or what is called a "realm." Manas will present a realm representing its thoughts, concepts, and psychological state. The deepest realm is usually called the samādhi realm. Severing the view of self and realizing the mind and seeing the nature both have the samādhi realm of equal balance of concentration and wisdom, representing manas's realization of emptiness and no-self. Manas abiding in the samādhi realm is seeing the path (attaining the path).

If manas understands and realizes that sensation and consciousness are without self, what manifestations will there be in daily life? What differences are there compared to before? What mental nature and habits are changed?

Bai Xuexiang's experience: The changes in daily life are very, very great. It's just that habits occasionally surface but are instantly noticed with awareness. Gradually, the habits become less and less powerful. This habit is precisely karmic force.

Ru She's experience: One does not mind the cognitive disturbances brought by sensation and consciousness, nor is there motivation to give rise to greedy or false thoughts. The mind rarely gives rise to afflictions. The pace of life slows down considerably. Experiencing people and events is like watching from outside, with a sense of detachment. But I don't know if this will increase compassion.

Having a sense of detachment towards people and events means a certain degree of separation from people and events, not being closely attached or dependent. This is a psychological state approaching emptiness. Cultivation has achieved some results, entering the stage of the four preliminaries (catvāri prayogāṇi). After passing this stage, the view of self is severed.

X. The Truth of Death

What is the difference between heart death and brain death? Why can one still blink their eyes the instant the head is severed? Why, at the moment of head-body separation, does one still feel they have limbs and a body, only that they don't respond? Why do people feel the most important part of the body is the brain, so they instinctively cover their head when in danger?

Heart death is when the heart and pulse stop beating, blood is no longer pumped, and breathing ceases. Brain death is when the brain's central nervous system has no reflex activity; the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body show no reaction whatsoever; there is no neural activity; the pupils of the eyes are dilated and unresponsive to light; checking the ears, nose, and tongue shows no reaction; the body muscles are limp and lack elasticity; bowel and bladder control is lost. These phenomena indicate that the subtle sense faculty of the brain has completely lost function. When the heart dies, the brain may not yet be dead because there may still be blood and qi supplying the brain; the six dusts can still be transmitted to the subtle sense faculty; weak six consciousnesses can still exist. But when the brain dies, the heart must be dead. Brain death is true death. However, if the examination for brain death is inadequate, misjudgment may occur, thinking someone is dead when they are not.

At the moment the head is severed, there is still blood and qi supplying the subtle sense faculty of the brain; the six dusts can still be transmitted to the subtle sense faculty of the brain; manas can still control the central nervous system's activity, directing the five sense faculties and six consciousnesses. Therefore, one can still blink their eyes at this time. Because the information of the six dusts still remains in the subtle sense faculty, and the body's information is also in the subtle sense faculty, manas and consciousness habitually believe the body still exists. Manas still wishes to control the body's movements; only when it feels it cannot control them does it realize the body has separated from the head (itself). Manas knows many things; part is manas's inherent function, but most is purely experience, having experienced too much; it knows innately. Yet it cannot express this knowledge, so consciousness does not understand it. Ignorance (avidyā)—is there more in manas or in consciousness?

If death is not natural, then how to die is the most swift, with the shortest time and least pain? That is direct decapitation. The blood and qi needed for brain activity are only what is in the subtle sense faculty; once consumed, death occurs very quickly. Without blood and qi, the six dusts are no longer transmitted into the subtle sense faculty, the six consciousnesses vanish, pain ceases, and the person dies. If other parts of the body are cut, the farther from the brain and heart/internal organs, the longer the blood and qi supply the brain, and the slower the death. The most cruel and painful death is death by a thousand cuts (lingchi), cutting non-vital areas one knife at a time; the six consciousnesses do not cease, so pain is felt continuously.

What is the most comfortable way to die? Death supported by wholesome karma and merit, ascending to the heavenly realm, is very comfortable and joyful. The body and mind are soft, the countenance more splendid than in life, the heavenly realm appears, heavenly music welcomes, heavenly fragrance fills the room. With one thought of joy, the breath ceases, and the consciousness (vijñāna) manifests in heaven. An even more comfortable death is being welcomed by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; the intermediate state (bardo) being rides a lotus flower and is reborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss or another Buddha land in the snap of a finger. But this requires much greater wholesome karma and merit to support; ordinary people cannot cultivate to this level.