The Mind Faculty Possesses Memory Function Yet Lacks Recall Capacity

Many people have had the experience of visiting a certain place and suddenly feeling as if they have been there before, yet they cannot recall when. Upon careful reflection later, it seems they have never actually been there. But why does this feeling occur? Moreover, some people feel an inexplicable familiarity upon meeting someone for the first time, as if they have known each other long ago. What is the reason for this?

These phenomena indicate that the manas (the mental faculty) possesses a memory function, but it cannot engage in recollection—recollection is the function of consciousness. However, the consciousness of past lives has not experienced the events of this life; consciousness remains unaware because consciousness does not carry over into future lives. Each lifetime’s consciousness is new, with no continuity from past lives. In contrast, the manas persists unceasingly through all lifetimes, maintaining an eternal connection with the aggregates (the five aggregates of form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness) from past lives. Thus, it retains knowledge of the people and events experienced by the aggregates in past lives. Therefore, when coming to certain places in this life, the manas recognizes that it has experienced them before, evoking a distinct sensation. Consequently, consciousness perceives a feeling of familiarity and uniqueness, yet it does not know why. The manas knows but is unable to express it. The same principle applies when encountering certain people. This demonstrates that the manas possesses memory but cannot express it and thus cannot engage in recollection.