The Reason Why the Manas Is the Master Consciousness

The manas is a consciousness that arises spontaneously, existing perpetually; it does not cease except at the time of Nirvāṇa without remainder, and it has existed since beginningless kalpas. There is no dharma that can determine the arising of the manas, nor is there any dharma that can determine its cessation. Since no one can govern the arising and perishing of the manas, and no one can govern its spontaneous functioning, among the seven consciousnesses it is the king—the ruler, the chief. Apart from it, there is nothing that can serve as the ruler and chief.

The mind consciousness cannot be the ruler and chief, because the mind consciousness arises and ceases every day and is not autonomous. Its arising is conditional: there must be the manas, there must be mental sense-objects (dharmas), the manas must contact the mental sense-objects, and the manas must make the decision to create bodily and verbal karmic actions—only then can the mind consciousness arise. Given this, how could the mind consciousness be in charge? It cannot even be in charge of its own arising and perishing—what it says does not count, and it cannot control them—so how could it have the ability to control the manas and other dharmas? How could it be in charge?

Especially when the mind consciousness has not yet appeared, when it is very faint, or when it cannot think—how could it be in charge then? With regard to falling asleep and waking up, how could the mind consciousness be in charge of these matters? When a fire suddenly breaks out at home in the middle of the night while one is in deep sleep, when something abnormal suddenly occurs, how could the mind consciousness be in charge of waking up and escaping? The mind consciousness does not even exist—can it still be in charge? When one is unconscious, there is no mind consciousness at all; how could the mind consciousness be in charge of struggling to wake up? In the case of a person in a vegetative state, the mind consciousness is so faint that it has almost ceased—how could it be in charge of deciding to turn over? It no longer even has thought—how could it be in charge of deciding to eat? How could it decide whether to continue living or whether death would be better?

Although the manas is a neutral (avyākṛta) consciousness that cannot autonomously and independently create wholesome or unwholesome karmic actions, this has nothing to do with whether it has the capacity to be in charge. It is like a president who cannot write programs: he can be in charge of directing programmers to write programs. He has this authority; he need not attend to everything personally, for he has subordinates who handle the various affairs, and he only needs to issue commands. The manas cannot personally create bodily and verbal karmic actions; it is enough for it to be in charge of directing the six consciousnesses to create them. The six consciousnesses exist to serve the manas. If the six consciousnesses are of no use and cannot accomplish anything, the manas will simply not decide to let the six consciousnesses arise, and then the six consciousnesses will have no use at all.