Consciousness and the Awareness of Manas

When consciousness lacks awareness, does the mental faculty (manas) possess awareness? When the mental faculty is aware, do we know it? Without consciousness, who observes the mental faculty? Even when consciousness is present, the vast majority of sentient beings fundamentally fail to observe the mental faculty; thus, the functions and operations of the mental faculty become obscured and misunderstood. When the mental faculty introspects upon itself, consciousness cannot discern it, nor can the mental faculty express it. Consequently, we are unable to clearly, rationally, and truthfully understand the functions and operations of the mental faculty, forcing it to remain the hidden operator behind the scenes—the master, the director, the decision-maker.

When does the mental faculty cease being the hidden master, director, and decision-maker behind the scenes and come to the foreground? What defines the foreground and the background? It is defined by the level of wisdom in consciousness.

For the mental faculty to come to the foreground, the condition is that consciousness must possess very powerful wisdom and observational power. For consciousness to possess such powerful wisdom and observational power, it must, after the realization of the mind (明心), be endowed with the meditative concentration (dhyāna) power of the first dhyāna or above. At this stage, the fruition level (bhūmi) is around the entry into the first bodhisattva ground (初地), generally after the first ground, when afflictions are eradicated, and both consciousness and the mental faculty are transformed into wisdom. At this point, it is not that the mental faculty comes to the foreground; rather, consciousness finally possesses sufficient wisdom to observe the mental faculty, and the functions and operations of the mental faculty are no longer obscured.