All mental activities that the mind consciousness cannot control are of the manas.

For example, a mental action like flying into a frantic rage is entirely directed and staged by the manas. The bodily, verbal, and mental actions all obey the manas's commands; only when the manas becomes frantic can the destructive behavior occur. For example, in an action like flying into a rage out of humiliation, after the manas feels humiliated, the six consciousnesses will then display the emotion of anger.

Whatever mental actions are uncontrollable and involuntary belong to the manas. The consciousness that wants to exercise control is the mind consciousness; the mind consciousness has rationality and understands principles. When the manas's rationality is relatively weak, it must rely on the mind consciousness to regulate it. Once the mind consciousness can no longer regulate the manas, things spiral out of control, like a flood bursting through a dike and overflowing. Sometimes, in a sudden explosive outburst of rage, the mind consciousness has no time to react at all; only after the outburst does the mind consciousness realize what state it was just in. Some people, when enraged, act without time for much thought and kill someone; only after the killing does the mind consciousness feel terror in hindsight, knowing how grave the matter is. Before the killing, there was not even a moment of thought—it was done directly at the manas's willful whim. The manas acts without allowing any discussion, extremely domineering; at such moments, the power of karma manifests.