Analyzing the Principles of Hypnotherapy through Yogācāra Theory

Hypnotherapy involves guiding the hypnotized individual into the subconscious mind, during which the defense mechanisms in their subconscious are largely dismantled. This allows the guided therapeutic approach to easily penetrate the subconscious level for healing. In a conscious state, however, the effective protection of defense mechanisms makes such deep penetration difficult.

This passage explains that in a conscious state, the conscious mind is highly active. Relying on the self-attachment nature of the seventh consciousness, the manas (mental faculty), it plans, schemes, strategizes, calculates gains and losses for the self, and effectively protects the so-called ego. It prevents the manas from manifesting its simple and straightforward nature, which lacks scheming. When the manas grasps onto the self, it possesses a powerful tool. When the conscious mind weakens, the manas loses this powerful tool for grasping the self. It then manifests as simple and straightforward, spontaneous, naive, primitive, and suggestible.

During hypnosis, the thinking and analytical activities of the conscious mind are suppressed; it cannot think, analyze, judge, design, or scheme. Without defense mechanisms, it cannot submit analytical thinking reports to the manas, cannot guide or control the manas, and cannot serve as the manas's advisor. Consequently, the manas loses its self-protective capacity and cannot command the conscious mind to lie to protect its own interests. The conscious mind simply states the facts as they are. Simultaneously, the manas can also be induced by external factors—encountering goodness leads to goodness, encountering evil leads to evil—it flows along with the circumstances. At this point, external forces can completely replace the conscious mind in guiding the manas, allowing the manas to change through external inspiration and guidance. Thus, the self's potential can be unleashed, the mind can be stimulated, mental illnesses can be cured, and psychological health can develop properly.

Defense mechanisms refer to the manas utilizing the functions of the conscious mind—such as strategizing, skillful means, analysis, and calculation—to take certain measures to protect itself. However, the manas itself cannot think, analyze, or plan what measures to take; it must rely on the conscious mind's analysis and thinking. Only through the conscious mind's strategizing can it decide how to protect itself, and then command the six consciousnesses to protect itself.

The manas constantly seeks self-protection, but without the help of the conscious mind, it is powerless. It lacks mechanisms because of its inferior wisdom; it cannot think or plan, cannot scheme. Without the perverse guidance of the conscious mind, the manas manifests as very simple and straightforward—it does not lie, does not deceive, has no schemes, no calculations, and cannot perform so-called self-protection. The conscious mind's self-defense does not depart from the manas's self-attachment; defense plans still require the manas's approval before they can be implemented. If the manas lacks the guidance and instruction of the conscious mind, it cannot defend against anything by itself. It cannot scheme, cannot strategize, cannot devise bad ideas, cannot indirectly conceal itself, and thus acts entirely according to habit, manifesting as simple and straightforward, appearing foolish.

After the hypnotized consciousness enters the subconscious, the manas's knowing nature and its connection to past lives become prominent. The manas may bring forth matters from past lives. Because the manas connects to countless eons of past lives—it has never perished—its connection to the karmic seeds of past lives is far more intimate than that of the conscious mind. However, it cannot express this, so the conscious mind cannot understand these matters, and we remain unaware. This is the veil of rebirth. Hypnosis can reveal past-life events unknown to the conscious mind itself; this is what the manas reveals. The manas holds an immense number of secrets that the conscious mind generally cannot discern. Yet the manas lacks conceptual language and cannot express them itself; therefore, the conscious mind cannot perceive them.