Are karmic obstacles eliminated by the mind consciousness or by the manas? How are they eliminated?

Karmic obstructions are the obstruction of ignorance: obstacles to one's own mind brought about by the unwholesome karma created through the power of ignorance. They obstruct one's own mind from obtaining good retribution, good fruits, and even good karma; wholesome dharmas cannot be accomplished, and they further obstruct the wise cognition of all dharmas. Ignorance originates initially in the manas; fundamentally, it lies in the ignorance of the manas. The ignorance of the mind consciousness initially all comes from the manas. Under the influence and impetus of the manas's ignorance, the mind consciousness is also tainted by environmental conditioning. Once the ignorance of the manas is eradicated, the mind consciousness is no longer conditioned by the environment, let alone tainted by the manas's ignorance, and thus the mind consciousness becomes pure. The ultimate purity of the mind consciousness is the result of the purity of the manas; if the manas is not pure, it will certainly impel and drive the mind consciousness to engage in impure karma, and once defiled karmic seeds are formed, there will be karmic obstructions in future lives. Therefore, all karmic obstructions are eliminated only after the manas becomes pure, because the manas is the originator of it all—just as the one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it.

When the manas's merit increases, its meditative concentration strengthens, and its wisdom grows, a portion of ignorance is eliminated, the mental disposition will partially transform, a portion of the afflictive obstruction (kleśāvaraṇa) will be removed, a portion of the obstructions to wholesome dharmas, wholesome karma, wholesome fruits, wholesome retribution, and wholesome conditions will be eliminated, and the obstructions encountered in learning Buddhism will be correspondingly lightened. The more the manas's ignorance is eliminated, the purer the mind becomes, the more karmic obstructions are reduced, and the more wholesome karma increases.

At the time of eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa), realizing the fruits, and seeing the mind and seeing one's nature, meditative concentration and wisdom greatly increase, a fundamental transformation is obtained, and the mental disposition simultaneously undergoes a fundamental transformation. The mind becomes pure, one obtains purity of the dharma eye, a portion of the afflictive obstruction is eliminated, and thus the karma leading to the three evil destinies is accordingly eliminated, signifying that one need no longer go to the three evil destinies to suffer and undergo retribution; the remaining karma need only be retributed within the human realm. Each time sentient beings attain a kind of meditative absorption (samādhi), a portion of their karmic obstructions is eliminated—this includes the second, third, and fourth fruits of the Small Vehicle, the various checkpoints of the Great Vehicle, as well as attaining the bhūmis, and the first, second, and third bhūmis. When wisdom grows, views and ideas change, the mind changes, and the afflictive obstruction is eliminated, the corresponding karma will be eliminated. Repentance can also eliminate karmic obstructions from past lives, because the inner manas recognizes its own ignorance, foolishness, and afflictions, and resolves to correct them; the mind changes, and thus the corresponding karmic obstructions are eliminated, or a portion of them is eliminated.

Karma is divided into fixed karma and unfixed karma. Fixed karma cannot be altered and must be retributed before it is exhausted; but unfixed karma can be altered and does not necessarily require retribution to be exhausted—it may be partially eliminated through repentance, with a portion still undergoing retribution. Even fixed karma can be altered under special circumstances. Special circumstances refer to when a sentient being's mental power is strong, wisdom is strong, meditative concentration is strong, repentance is sincere and weighty, and the mental disposition has been greatly transformed—then the karma is altered. If no karma whatsoever could be altered and all of it had to be retributed before being exhausted, then not a single person in the world could become a Buddha. Because sentient beings' karma is too numerous and too heavy, it is fundamentally impossible to undergo and exhaust all of its retribution. Moreover, if karma could not be altered, then sentient beings' repentance would be useless and could not eliminate karma.