The Meaning of Manas Not Corresponding to Words and Language

Answer: The meaning of "the manas does not correspond to words and language" is that the manas cannot use words and language to express its own thoughts and views; it is not that it does not understand words and language. Since He is the master consciousness that oversees the whole situation, He has the authority to direct and mobilize the six consciousnesses. Being unable to speak or to express things in words, He can let the mind consciousness speak and let the mind consciousness express things in words; many things He cannot do Himself can be accomplished with the assistance of the six consciousnesses. For example, a president's energy is limited and he has no ability to be in two places at once; he can only oversee the overall affairs of the nation and cannot carry out specific work such as market research and statistical analysis, but he can appoint subordinates to complete these tasks. Likewise, the manas oversees the whole situation and cannot personally attend to specific matters; He can only use the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses and the solitary mental consciousness to handle specific trivial affairs, and the manas merely needs to listen to the reports. In the process of listening to the reports, He uses the mental factor of volition (cetanā), the mental factor of wisdom (prajñā), and the mental factor of determination (adhimokṣa) to make judgments and decisions, and then issues commands, letting the six consciousnesses solve problems according to the instructions.

The manas is like a mute person who, though unable to speak, can understand what people say. The eighth consciousness is the same: although He cannot speak and is not versed in language and words, He has His own unique mode of discernment, discerning unique information, different from the seven consciousnesses; the manas is also different from the mind consciousness. The manas's deliberation is no worse than the mind consciousness's deliberation. If a president were to free up time and energy to specifically engage in market research, perhaps he would do it even better than his subordinates; it is only that he has no time. If the manas were to substitute for the six consciousnesses, He might surpass them; it is only that His present energy is insufficient. That is why one must cultivate meditation, cultivate meditation, and cultivate meditation again—to free up time and energy for the manas, to focus, focus, and focus again; only thus can great wisdom emerge.

If you regard the manas as a consciousness, or as a person, you can understand the manas's nature and its mental factors. The mind consciousness and the six consciousnesses are the ones who do the work for the manas. If the manas's wisdom is sufficient, the six consciousnesses' handling of anything will be crystal clear to Him; if His wisdom is insufficient and His power of determination (adhimokṣa) is not strong, there will be misunderstandings, or He will be unable to understand what the six consciousnesses do, unclear about their actions. If the mind consciousness cannot express itself, or expresses itself unclearly, the manas will not be able to fully understand and will not comprehend the mind consciousness's intentions.