Section Six: Mental Factors of Wisdom (2)

18. The Alerting Function of Manas

Why does one feel inexplicably depressed, cry, become tense, and worry long before a loved one has an accident? This is a premonition, sensed by manas. Is this premonition the alerting function of the tathāgatagarbha or the alerting function of manas? If it were the tathāgatagarbha alerting consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha would possess initiative, which contradicts its inherent unchanging nature regarding all dharmas. However, it is primarily one's own tathāgatagarbha that resonates with a portion of the karmic conditions (karmic seeds) of the loved one that have already begun to manifest. Manas, based on the karmic conditions manifested by the tathāgatagarbha, judges that an accident is imminent. Consequently, it prompts the six consciousnesses to express emotions—inexplicable tears, crying, depression, panic, unease, and agitation. Then, the mental consciousness (mano-vijñāna) speculates and thinks: What is happening? What event is about to occur? Subsequently, the mental consciousness considers the possibility of something happening to a specific person, and finally learns what has occurred.

This accords with the principle of manas regulating the body and mind, involving the cooperation of the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha discerns matters without disturbance; manas, relying on the discernment of the tathāgatagarbha, also discerns the karmic conditions manifested by it, knowing that an event is about to happen. It then produces a series of reactions. To the mental consciousness, these reactions are inexplicable, but manas knows, though it cannot articulate it. One (mental consciousness) can speak, possessing language, yet does not know; the other (manas) knows, but lacks language and cannot express it. For the two to interact effectively requires mutual understanding and wisdom.

The more manas cares about a person, the more it prompts the tathāgatagarbha to discern karmic seeds and conditions. For those it does not care about, even if the tathāgatagarbha incidentally discerns the karmic conditions, manas shows little reaction, and the mental consciousness remains completely unaware. When manas is indifferent to oneself, even if the body develops illness or pain, the mental consciousness remains unaware. If the condition becomes severe, the mental consciousness still does not know, as manas does not alert it.

19. The Intuitive Function of Manas

Animals' reactions before an earthquake are as follows: Oxen, horses, donkeys, and mules become startled and restless, refusing to enter stables or eat, making chaotic noises, fighting in groups, breaking tethers to escape, stamping or pawing the ground, suddenly bolting while walking; Pigs refuse to enter pens, refuse food, squeal and thrash, root at enclosures, or break out; Sheep refuse to enter pens, refuse food, bleat and thrash, escape pens, or cause disturbances in pens; Dogs bark incessantly, whine, sniff and dig at the ground, bite people, run around chaotically, carry pups to move, police dogs disobey commands; Cats become agitated, carry kittens to move or climb trees; Rabbits refuse grass, thrash and squeal in burrows, panic and flee their burrows; Ducks and geese refuse to enter water during the day, refuse to roost at night, refuse food, closely follow their owners, cry out in alarm, fly high; Chickens refuse to roost, fight each other, cause disturbances in coops, or fly into trees; Pigeons refuse to enter nests, perch outside, suddenly take flight en masse; Rats emerge from holes in groups during the day, appearing dazed as if drunk, unafraid of people, scurrying around in panic, carrying young to move; Snakes, including hibernating ones, emerge from holes, freeze stiff or die in snow, increase in number, gathering in masses; Fish float in groups, swim frantically, leap out of water, aquarium fish jump chaotically, injuring heads and tails, leaping out of tanks, making sounds, becoming sluggish, dying.

Before an earthquake occurs, animals' mental consciousness does not know specifically what will happen, but it senses that a disaster is imminent. How does the mental consciousness know this? Major disasters are events animals have never experienced in this life; minor disasters are events younger animals have never experienced. The mental consciousness cannot possibly know a disaster is coming, let alone that it involves the safety of their own or their kind's lives. What the mental consciousness senses is alerted to it by manas based on past experiences. The mental consciousness then reacts intensely. These reactions are all regulated by manas, which directs the six consciousnesses to produce various panicked and fearful responses.

Manas possesses the function of foresight, able to know in advance events both large and small that are about to happen. How does manas know a major event is imminent? Manas is so close to the tathāgatagarbha, inseparable as form and shadow. Whatever dharmas the tathāgatagarbha perceives, manas can subsequently perceive. The tathāgatagarbha perceives the essential realm (svabhāvaviṣaya), while manas perceives an identical shadow of that essential realm—the appearance is the same, but the function differs. When the tathāgatagarbha perceives karmic seeds ripening, it sequentially manifests some karmic conditions. Manas, upon perceiving this, knows what is about to happen. Because manas is highly experienced, based on these karmic conditions manifested by the tathāgatagarbha, it can immediately judge what event is about to occur and even estimate the approximate time. Therefore, after manas alerts the mental consciousness to discern, it sometimes urgently prompts the mental consciousness to think, judge, and take immediate measures; other times, it allows the mental consciousness to think slowly and carefully about countermeasures, making it feel there is still time.

Animals are too closely connected to nature. For example, fish, before an earthquake, experience changes in nature that begin before the earthquake itself. Changes in nature before an earthquake include alterations in the ground, rocks, rivers, seas, climate, etc. Animals are precisely the ones most dependent on these living environments and closest to these natural surroundings. These natural environments are manifested and sustained with the participation of the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha perceives the aspect (nimitta) of this essential realm. Then, like a mirror reflecting an image, the tathāgatagarbha manifests the shadow aspect of the essential realm. Manas, relying on the perceiving aspect (darśana) of the tathāgatagarbha, can perceive this shadow aspect. Manas then, based on past experience, can judge what is about to happen. Thus, it senses an impending major disaster and regulates the physical body to produce those stress responses.

Why don't humans know these things and need instruments to detect them? Because animals' karmic retribution is stupidity; their mental consciousness is relatively dull. Activities like thinking, reasoning, comparing, analyzing, judging, researching, etc., are poor. Solitary mental activities are also few; they rarely engage in deluded thoughts or fantasies about the future. Overall, animals have fewer mental consciousness activities, so the intuitive function of manas appears very prominent. They primarily rely on intuition to survive. Manas can also rely on the tathāgatagarbha to discern the universe and the material world. Changes that have already occurred and those about to occur in nature are all known to manas. Therefore, animals' perception is very acute precisely because they rely on the intuitive function of manas.

In humans, the intuitive function is mostly obscured and replaced by the clever activities of the mental consciousness, making it difficult to manifest. It only emerges when the mind is calm, meaning in a relatively stable state where the thinking and reasoning activities of the mental consciousness are suppressed. Only then can the intuitive function of manas manifest. At this time, human senses become sharp, enabling them to know secrets not easily known by others without relying on the mental consciousness, and to unravel the mysteries of some events.

Manas has existed since beginningless time, similarly an ancient being, having experienced countless human affairs and physical phenomena. It knows an immense number of things, beyond calculation. Thus, it is experienced and knowledgeable, omniscient regarding heaven and earth, past and future. Therefore, whenever the tathāgatagarbha manifests some karmic conditions, manas can independently judge what is about to happen. This is called foresight.

Why does manas have habits and inertia? Manas carries forward thoughts, concepts, and ideas from past lives, through countless eons, up to the present. This is why it is called habit and inertia. The mental consciousness does not have the habitual tendencies and inertia from past lives. Manas, having experienced countless events over immeasurable eons, when encountering relatively important and urgent matters, decides based on its own experience. It has experienced far too much. When encountering special emergencies, it knows and decides instantly without thinking, taking charge. These are all manifestations of the intuitive function of manas.

20. Manas Discerns Sounds Alone as Vague

Question: One day, while I was half-asleep, I heard the sound from a broadcast. At that moment, I knew in my mind it was the sound of Buddha's name, but when I tried hard to listen, I couldn't distinguish the specific content. When I became a bit more awake, I recognized it was the sound of chanting Amitabha Buddha's holy name. When I was half-asleep, I only heard the sound, indicating my ear consciousness received the sound object (śabda), but the mental consciousness wasn't fully awake and couldn't clearly discern the mental object (dharma). Is that correct?

Answer: Generally, when waking from sleep, the mental consciousness appears first, followed by the five sense consciousnesses. Only when both combine can the six sense objects be clearly discerned. If the mental consciousness is partially awake but the ear consciousness has not yet manifested, the sounds heard will be vague. Furthermore, just before fully waking, manas can also hear the sound of Buddha chanting. However, manas often cannot discern it clearly and may even discern it incorrectly. But because one often hears the chanting sound, manas is very familiar with it. Although it may not discern it wrongly, the discernment is still not very clear. The mental function just before waking belongs to manas. When the mental consciousness first becomes alert, it is easy to detect manas.

When a person is near death, due to the decomposition of the four great elements (mahābhūta), the decomposition of the body faculty (kāyendriya) is particularly painful. Therefore, the mental consciousness lacks the mental strength and energy to discern the mental objects of sound that appear; the known mental objects become vague. Moreover, due to the decomposition of the four great elements in the subtle sense faculty (indriya), the external six sense objects transmitted through the nervous system into the internal six sense objects within the subtle sense faculty become fewer and increasingly indistinct. Consequently, the mental consciousness perceives them as weaker and less clear. However, if one usually practices diligently with deep roots of goodness and abundant merit, one will receive the Buddha's power blessing, preventing the mind from becoming disordered, enabling rebirth in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss or a fortunate realm.

21. How Manas Discerns the Physical Body

Question: The six consciousnesses, including the seventh consciousness manas, all function in the head. How does the body consciousness (kāya-vijñāna) know the changes in the tactile objects within the body's internal organs? Does manas know the changes in the body's tactile objects through the mental consciousness and body consciousness, or through the tathāgatagarbha? Which changes does manas know through the six consciousnesses, and which changes does manas know through the eighth consciousness?

Answer: All parts of the physical body are divided into the aspect (nimitta) of the essential realm and the aspect of the direct perception (pratyakṣa) and inferential perception (anumāna) realms separately manifested by the tathāgatagarbha based on the essential realm. All forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile objects of the body must be transmitted through sensory nerves to the subtle sense faculty in the hindbrain to become internal aspects (adhyātmika-pratyaya). When the sense faculty and object contact, consciousness arises. Only then can the body consciousness and mental consciousness discern the tactile objects of the body. What is discerned are the internal aspects within the subtle sense faculty of the brain; what is transmitted before reaching the subtle sense faculty are the external aspects (bāhya-pratyaya).

Manas discerns the body's condition through two paths: One path relies on the discernment of the eighth consciousness to make its own discernment. It can only discern a general and rough situation. This is a separate discernment made before the body consciousness and mental consciousness discern, and it is not detailed. Manas then makes decisions based on this. The other path relies on the discernment information from the body consciousness and mental consciousness to make its own discernment. It can use the six consciousnesses to know relatively subtle situations and then make decisions.

22. The Innate Knowing of Infants is the Wisdom of Manas

Changing manas might be achieved through a single major accident, enough to make manas vastly different from before. If you don't believe it, try it: get severely burned after playing with fire, and you'll surely never play with fire again; drive recklessly, fall into a ditch, break a bone, and you'll never dare to drive recklessly again. The saying "Once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of a well rope" illustrates this principle. After experiencing a major event, some people develop sequelae. For example, whenever others mention similar things, manas psychologically panics, fears, trembles, and never wants to face those people or matters again. Some children, abused just once, remember it deeply, never wanting to contact that person again, nor hear their name. Upon hearing the name, they feel psychological panic and unease.

When a child touches something hot for the first time, they naturally withdraw; when encountering cold, they naturally shrink their neck and shiver all over. This shows manas innately knows cold and heat without being taught. An infant knows to cry out in pain when hit for the first time, also without being taught. Infants innately know fullness and hunger, so they cry and fuss when hungry. Crying and fussing are also innate; no one teaches them how to do it.

Those feelings of pain in infants—no one teaches them: "This is pain, you should cry now, cry like this." When an infant is held and caressed by parents for the first time and feels comfortable, no one teaches the infant that being held is comfortable, being caressed is comfortable, that this is comfort, or how to express comfort. No one teaches these things; infants are born knowing them.

Śāriputra, foremost among the Buddha's disciples in understanding emptiness, realized the emptiness of all dharmas in a past life. Therefore, while in the womb, he knew it was empty; at birth, he knew it was empty. Consequently, he caused all the family's property to vanish, and then it all reappeared. This understanding of emptiness was brought over by the realization of manas. Some matters require the combined functioning of the six consciousnesses and the five aggregates (skandha) to be accomplished. Since the five aggregates and six consciousnesses are new, learning and adaptation are necessary. The varying speeds at which people learn are due to differences in manas's experience.

When first beginning to learn Buddhism, everyone's mental consciousness is equally ignorant. But soon, differences appear. Some people spend a lifetime stuck on a single Buddha's name or remain at the stage of reading sutras, while others seek out Chan (Zen) classics to study within a month and wish to investigate Chan and realize the Way within a year. Why such a big difference? Differences in manas's experiences, the length of time learning Buddhism—differing by even immeasurable eons—and disparities in wisdom lead to vast differences in Buddhist practice.

23. The Innate Survival Wisdom of Manas

Animals possess innate self-protection abilities; they are born with them. At birth, the mental consciousness is very weak and lacks survival experience. Therefore, when encountering various situations, they cannot think deeply, analyze, or judge. Yet, animals still know to avoid danger, know hunger, and can use sounds to express their inner needs and fears. When they grow a little older, the thinking, analyzing, and judging abilities of the mental consciousness are still not strong, and they still lack much survival experience. Yet, when encountering fierce beasts, they know fear, know to hide, know to protect their vital parts, know to protect their head first. When animals attack weaker animals of different species, they know where the opponent's vital parts are and directly attack them.

These behaviors are all controlled by manas; the six consciousnesses follow manas's direction to produce various bodily actions. So, how powerful is the knowing nature of manas? How powerful is its deliberative nature? Why is manas innately able to know these things? On what basis does it make decisions and choices? How much is it related to the habitual tendencies from the five aggregates' past lives? How are the contents of the five aggregates' past life habitual tendencies brought to this life, and how do they correspond to karmic seeds? If one can think clearly about these questions, one will no longer be so ignorant of manas, nor regard it like a block of wood, thinking it has no significant function, being inferior even to the mental consciousness. One will absolutely no longer hold such a view.

24. Manas's Discernment Wisdom Regarding the Physical Body

Although sleep is determined by manas, manas does not have the intention to extinguish the six consciousnesses. It has no concept of the six consciousnesses; it is simply that the mental factor of volition (cetanā) decides not to discern the objects of the six senses. The tathāgatagarbha then accords with manas, and the seeds giving rise to the six consciousnesses manifest less and less frequently, more and more slowly. The discernment of the six consciousnesses becomes weaker and weaker, finally ceasing, leading to sleep and physical and mental tranquility. The brain's nervous system issues fewer and fewer commands; the body's various metabolic activities decrease, consumption lessens, and the energy within the body becomes sufficient and full. Manas feels it can smoothly regulate the body and mind's activities with little hindrance, so it wishes for the five aggregates to be active, to discern the six sense objects. The tathāgatagarbha accords and gives rise to the six consciousnesses, thus one awakens from sleep.

From this, we see that manas discerns the condition of the physical body very precisely and arranges the activities of the five aggregates of the body in an orderly manner. If resting the next day, it lets the body sleep longer, not rushing for five-aggregate activities; if there are matters the next day, it lets the body rise earlier. The mental activities of manas are quite complex, sensitive, and flexible; its wisdom is not shallow, nor does it need to rely on the mental consciousness to handle these matters. It operates completely independently, needing no assistant. If we say manas's discerning wisdom is inferior, it refers to manas's inability to discern the specific details of the six sense objects, not that it lacks discernment in all aspects. If manas's wisdom were completely inferior at all times and in all places, then the entire five-aggregate body could not accomplish anything.

25. The Innate Wisdom of Manas is Accumulated Over Lifetimes

Some people have exceptionally good wisdom in certain areas without postnatal learning; they are born that way. This is the wisdom of manas, brought from past lives. Child prodigies are like this. The wisdom the mental consciousness acquires through postnatal learning takes longer and is not very rapid. If learned extremely quickly, it is still influenced by the nurturing of manas, having been contacted in past lives, related to karmic seeds. Learning Buddhism is like this. Some people progress by leaps and bounds in learning Buddhism in a single day, said to have roots of goodness and merit—meaning they have a foundation from past lives. Manas brings the habitual tendencies from past lives to this life, so learning Buddhism becomes very rapid.

The wisdom of manas is extremely important; it is an asset from past lives, called roots of goodness (kuśala-mūla). If manas lacks good wisdom, all our past life cultivation would be in vain; the worldly dharmas cultivated in past lives would also be cultivated for nothing and could not be brought to this life for use. The difference between people does not lie in a single life. Within one lifetime, it's unlikely to accumulate a huge difference; differences are accumulated over many lifetimes. Therefore, the difference between sentient beings lies in manas; it is the difference in manas. Due to the difference in manas, the mental consciousness also shows great differences, and the wisdom to understand problems varies widely.

Manas corresponds with seeds, but manas's wisdom does not need to be retrieved from the seeds; wisdom is always associated with manas. That is, manas always possesses wisdom. For example, once we learn to cook, whenever the conditions for cooking are present in this life, we can cook; this skill always exists. The dharmas manas has cultivated always exist; it always understands them. Thus, its wisdom is always carried along; it does not need to retrieve seeds from the tathāgatagarbha.

26. The Cleverness of Consciousness and the Wisdom of Manas Wax and Wane

Manas directly corresponds with karmic force and karmic seeds. The karmic seeds from past lives can manifest in manas. The habitual tendencies of manas are karmic force, encompassing both good and evil karma. When manas corresponds with good karma, it manifests good habits; when corresponding with evil karma, it manifests evil habits. When manas corresponds with good karma, it has wisdom; when corresponding with evil karma, it manifests stupidity. Sometimes it has wisdom, sometimes stupidity; wise in some aspects, stupid in others. For example, animals are generally stupid due to evil karma, but they also have a side of cleverness and wisdom, which is undeniable. Some animals may have been humans, devas, or bodhisattvas in past lives; they have been to all six realms, leaving behind karmic seeds.

Animals possess the wisdom suited to being animals, innate and not requiring postnatal learning. Because animals are stupid, they cannot engage in much thinking, analysis, reasoning, or judgment. They often rely on intuition to survive and respond to all environments. This intuition is the awareness nature of manas, possessing both a stupid side and a wise side. The wisdom of animals' manas lies in its sensitivity to changes in the universe and material world, having the ability of foresight. Disasters unknown to humans, major changes in the material world—animals know them all; their senses are very sharp, often relying on this foresight to adapt to the living environment. Humans cannot do this; most of the time, they must rely on the mental consciousness's thinking, analysis, reasoning, judgment, and scientific methods to know the changes about to occur in the universe and material world.

27. The Innate Wisdom of Manas is Also Karmic Force

When a hen hatches chicks for the first time, she knows how to incubate, how to turn the eggs with her beak, how to provide warmth. The hen's mental consciousness has never learned how to hatch; why does the hen know innately how to hatch chicks? The hen's mental consciousness is newly born, not connected to past lives. In this life, the mental consciousness has not learned incubation techniques, cannot read books to gain knowledge, has no one to teach it, and other hens have not taught it. The mental consciousness absolutely has no opportunity to learn, yet the hen knows how to hatch eggs. Why is this? It is all due to the innate wisdom of manas and also the result of karmic force.

Some children, at three or four years old, can compose music and play instruments. Their mental consciousness is also newly born, has not learned composition, no one has taught them, they cannot read music, yet they compose and play innately. Why can they do this? This is all wisdom brought from past lives by manas; it is the innate wisdom inherent in manas, the result of immeasurable eons of habituation.

28. The Special Discernment Wisdom of Manas

Manas can cognize all dharmas; its scope of discernment is extremely broad. Consequently, its discerning wisdom cannot be powerful; it cannot perform deep and detailed discernment, resulting in poor discernment that is unclear, non-specific, and imprecise. Manas still possesses discernment wisdom regarding the six sense objects, but it is not as specific and subtle as that of the mental consciousness. Because their responsibilities differ, manas makes overall plans and possesses overall wisdom. Therefore, it cannot possibly attend to every minute detail; the fine details are handled by its subordinates, the six consciousnesses. Manas lacks the energy for this; otherwise, it couldn't grasp major matters. This is an exception in deep meditative absorption (dhyāna).

Usually, although manas's discernment wisdom regarding the objects of the six senses is weak, its discernment wisdom regarding matters beyond the six senses may not be so low. Habitual tendencies and inertia manifest very quickly. Manas is quite remarkable in the function of habitual tendencies and inertia; it can discern and decide rapidly and accurately, faster than blinking. For example, while driving, when about to collide, manas decides instantly, without hesitation or discussion, to brake or turn the wheel, avoiding an accident. When encountering very dangerous situations, manas decides immediately, without discussion, to flee for one's life. Actually, manas never says a word; it cannot speak.

Whether the body is safe or not is content discerned by the mental consciousness. Manas has no concept of safety and cannot instantly judge safety issues. Yet it can still make decisions quickly, ensuring the body's safety. This is truly inconceivable. Manas is extremely stubborn in regarding the five aggregates of the body as itself, clinging to it tenaciously, not wanting the body to face even the slightest danger. The habitual tendencies and inertia of manas require certain conditions to manifest. All dharmas cognized by manas must be triggered by external conditions. It's just that some conditions cannot be discerned by the mental consciousness, so it seems as if they arise without cause. Actually, there is always a cause; it's just that the mental consciousness doesn't know, and manas cannot express it. This knowing is all the result of manas's separate discernment.

29. Manas is the One of Great Wisdom and Great Courage

In relationships between people, sincere communication is the sincerity of manas; false pretense and perfunctory behavior are the disguises of the mental consciousness. Tacit understanding refers to the coordinated and cooperative relationship between manas, without speaking or using language; hearts are connected with just a hint. When manas can cooperate tacitly, it shows both people are intelligent and can understand each other. Conversely, no matter how the mental consciousness expresses and explains with language, the other party does not understand, indicating that person is dull. Therefore, true intelligence and wisdom must refer to manas. Great wisdom, great courage, and great strategy must refer to manas. Cleverness, quick-wittedness, and scheming refer to the mental consciousness.

Whether a person has great wisdom, high emotional and intellectual quotients, depends on manas; the mental consciousness is secondary. The mental consciousness is all strategy, temporary wisdom for coping. When experience is insufficient, it has no solution, especially at critical moments of life and death, when it is useless. Generally, people of great wisdom speak little and prefer silence; manas is just this deep and wordless. People of petty cleverness like to show off, play tricks and schemes; this corresponds to the mental consciousness.

30. What Dharmas Can Manas Discern Alone?

The Buddha said in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra that manas can silently contain all dharmas. The scope of "all dharmas" is extremely vast. Apart from the essential realm discerned solely by the eighth consciousness, which manas cannot perceive, manas can cognize and perceive any dharma the eighth consciousness can perceive, any dharma the eighth consciousness can manifest, as long as it relies on the eighth consciousness. This includes past lives, ancient and modern times, immeasurable eons past and future, heaven and earth, the ten directions, ripened karmic seeds (unripened karmic seeds can only be known by the manas of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas with immeasurable supernatural powers)—as long as the eighth consciousness can perceive it, manas can cognize and perceive it.

It's just that the mental consciousness, without supernatural powers, cannot follow manas to know all these dharmas. It cannot know past and future lives, cannot know the ten directions and three times, cannot know ripened and unripened karmic seeds. When the mental consciousness possesses sufficient supernatural powers, it can follow manas to know karmic seeds that have ripened and ceased, and can discern the experiences of a sentient being from immeasurable eons ago. The Buddha's mental consciousness can discern all experiences and all causes and conditions of sentient beings throughout the entire river of life, and can also discern all causes and conditions for a considerable time into the future. Therefore, the Buddha can predict that an Eighth Ground Bodhisattva will attain Buddhahood at a certain time one immeasurable eon later. The mental consciousness of Bodhisattvas can also discern the causes and conditions of sentient beings' past and future lives for a period of time. Even great Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas with the samādhi of liberation can discern the experiences of sentient beings in past and future lives for a period (eight hundred great kalpas).

Many of the dharmas manas knows by relying on the eighth consciousness cannot be known by the mental consciousness. Therefore, the mental consciousness does not believe facts it cannot know and does not believe in the vast supernatural powers of manas, thinking that what it doesn't know, manas also doesn't know. If manas doesn't know, no matter how great the mental consciousness's supernatural powers, it similarly cannot know. There is no dharma that the mental consciousness can cognize but manas cannot. On the contrary, there are many dharmas cognized by manas that the mental consciousness cannot cognize. If the mental consciousness can discern countless lives of others, it means manas can discern others' karmic seeds, enabling the mental consciousness to follow manas and also discern.

31. The Operation of the Mental Factor of Wisdom

All eight consciousnesses have the mental factor of wisdom (prajñā). Wisdom is clarity (vidyā); lack of wisdom is ignorance (avidyā). The mental factor of wisdom indicates the consciousness's clarity regarding the perceived aspect (nimitta). Of course, this clarity has degrees of difference. Only the eighth consciousness is completely and thoroughly clear about the perceived aspect, without ignorance. The other seven consciousnesses have varying degrees of clarity regarding the perceived aspect; they are not completely clear, still containing ignorance, and ignorance outweighs clarity. The degree of clarity is reflected in differing clarity regarding different perceived aspects and differing clarity regarding the perceived aspect under different conditions.

The mental factor of wisdom operates concurrently and mixed with other mental factors, inseparable. If the mental factor of wisdom does not function during the operation of consciousness, the operation of consciousness becomes disordered, the discernment of the corresponding aspect unclear. Consequently, correct, rational, and true decisions cannot be made, nor can decisions be made quickly. The outcome can be imagined. The mental factor of wisdom functions at any stage of the operation of the five universal mental factors (sarvatraga). It must also function during the operation of the other five object-specific mental factors (viniyata), otherwise consciousness becomes disordered and cannot make true and rational decisions.

For example, in the operation of eye consciousness, the initial mental engagement (manasikāra) and contact (sparśa) of eye consciousness itself may occur without the participation of the wisdom factor. Further operation involves the wisdom factor. When eye consciousness receives the form object (rūpa), the wisdom factor functions, knowing what the form is. Then, when grasping (upādāna) the form object, the wisdom factor functions. When deciding (adhimokṣa) about the form object, the wisdom factor functions even more. The stronger the wisdom factor, the wiser the decision, and the better the outcome. The same applies to the other consciousnesses, especially the sixth and seventh consciousnesses, where the function of the wisdom factor is greater and wisdom is stronger. However, this wisdom is also divided into worldly wisdom and Buddhist wisdom. Worldly wisdom is actually ignorance, not true clarity; it cannot lead to liberation and Buddhahood and may even do the opposite, deeply miring one in worldly saṃsāra without awareness.

In the operation of the object-specific mental factors, the wisdom factor also operates simultaneously with them. The wisdom factor operates combined with the factor of desire (chanda), combined with the factor of resolve (adhimokṣa), combined with the factor of mindfulness (smṛti), and combined with the factor of concentration (samādhi). However, the strength of the wisdom factor's wisdom varies; its effect differs in magnitude, leading to vastly different results.

32. The Wisdom of Manas is Most Crucial

All eight consciousnesses have the wisdom factor. Let's not discuss the wisdom factor of the eighth consciousness for now. Among the wisdom factors of the first seven consciousnesses, the wisdom factor of the seventh consciousness, manas, is the most important and most crucial in cultivation and realization. It represents the fundamental level of wisdom of a sentient being. Because manas determines the arising and operation of the six consciousnesses, determines all bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses, and to some extent determines the wisdom of the six consciousnesses. The first six consciousnesses are controlled by manas. Therefore, the wisdom of manas plays a decisive role, concerning the life, death, liberation, or bondage in saṃsāra of sentient beings.

If manas lacks wisdom, no matter how wise the six consciousnesses are, it is useless. The karmic actions created by the six consciousnesses are governed by manas. What kind of karmic seeds exist is determined by the mental activities of manas. What kind of karmic retribution there will be in future lives is determined by the mental activities of manas. Whether future lives involve saṃsāric rebirth or liberation and Buddhahood is determined by the mental activities of manas. Therefore, the wisdom to sever the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and the wisdom of realization, as well as all samādhi wisdom, are attained by manas. Apart from the wisdom of manas, cultivation cannot be said to bear fruit, including the stage of Stream-enterer (srota-āpanna) and Stream-enterer candidate, including all transformations in the stage of an ordinary person (pṛthagjana).

33. Manas's Wisdom to Turn Danger into Safety

The five aggregates body, mental consciousness, and five sense consciousnesses are all tools used by manas. Without these tools, none of manas's ideas in the six sense realms can be realized. Manas must utilize the six consciousnesses to create bodily, verbal, and mental actions, expressing its thoughts and ideas. Otherwise, it would be like a deaf-mute or disabled person, incapable of action. This shows that manas itself has its own unique views, understanding, and wisdom cognition; it inherently possesses wisdom and cognition without needing to rely on the mental consciousness. But when the mental consciousness is present, it can rely on it for expression; without the mental consciousness, it cannot express itself. Therefore, we cannot attribute all the wisdom and merits of manas to the mental consciousness, burying the innate, unique functions manas has possessed over countless lifetimes. This is unfair.

In judging people, especially those met for the first time and unknown, the mental consciousness is often powerless. It relies entirely on manas's experiences accumulated over eons—this is intuition and wisdom. For many major events, especially critical ones involving life and death, the mental consciousness has no opportunity or ability to think, analyze, reason, or judge. Yet manas can instantly decide, take emergency measures, avoiding calamity after calamity, disaster after disaster, ultimately turning danger into safety. Afterwards, the mental consciousness still doesn't understand what exactly happened. Every sentient being should truly thank manas for this ability to turn danger into safety. Without this innate wisdom and decision-making of manas, our lives would end prematurely shortly after birth and never reach old age or natural death.

34. Can Manas Discern True/False and Good/Evil?

The truth/falsity and good/evil of a state belong to relatively subtle mental objects (dharma). Generally, manas cannot discern them; it can only discern the general outline and overall picture of the state. If manas knew good from bad and could discern true/false and good/evil, then there would be no need for the mental consciousness to guide and educate manas. Often, there would be no need to give rise to the mental consciousness; manas itself could discern the subtle parts of the objects of the six senses. Manas itself does not know good and evil dharmas and cannot distinguish good from evil, right from wrong, good from bad. It does not itself create good or evil karma (except for mental thoughts; mental thoughts are also karma, and from mental thoughts come the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses). However, it possesses wholesome and unwholesome mental factors and can direct the six consciousnesses to create wholesome or unwholesome karma based on its own wholesome or unwholesome mental thoughts. Because manas contains both defiled and pure aspects: if the defiled nature of manas manifests, it controls the six consciousnesses to create defiled karma; if the pure nature of manas manifests, it controls the six consciousnesses to create wholesome karma.