Can the Solitary Consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) Alter the Outer Representation?

The three transforming consciousnesses can harmoniously give rise to all dharmas, and when the conditions and karmic seeds mature, they can also alter all dharmas when the causal conditions ripen. But in order to change the outer representation, one must change the karmic seeds, which requires the conditions for those karmic seeds to mature. To change the outer representation—whether through a rapid short-term change or a slow long-term change—the sixth and seventh consciousnesses, these two transforming consciousnesses, must be extremely powerful, able to induce changes in the karmic seeds within the tathāgatagarbha; once the karmic seeds change, the outer representation can be changed. If the sixth and seventh consciousnesses lack power, the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses cannot serve to change the outer representation, and the solitary mental consciousness in dreams is even less capable of changing it. What can quickly change the outer representation must be the sixth and seventh consciousnesses in meditative concentration—ideally the solitary mental consciousness and the manas in concentration. The distracted solitary mental consciousness, the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses, and the manas are all incapable, lacking power.

The solitary mental consciousness in dreams can hardly change the outer representation, because the mind consciousness is extremely weak, or has no power at all, and there are no concrete karmic actions, so it cannot induce a transformation of the karmic seeds, and the outer representation cannot change. When awake, even if the solitary mental consciousness engages in wild imaginings, random thoughts, and deluded thoughts, it still cannot change the outer representation within a short period, because it is distracted and powerless. However, if the solitary mental consciousness can concentrate its mental energy on a single imagination, it becomes very powerful and may be able to quickly change the outer representation. Relying on the manas' thinking and the solitary mental consciousness's thinking, without bodily or verbal actions, it can also change the karmic seeds, thereby changing the outer representation. Therefore, mental thought and mental activity are also karmic actions, and they carry karmic retribution.