The Transformation of the Consciousness into Wisdom (āśraya-parāvṛtti of the mind consciousness)

When seeking the manas and observing the manas, it is the mind consciousness that knows the manas. Since the manas contacts many dharmas and cannot clearly discern them, it must rely on the mind consciousness for fine discernment.

However, the manas also possesses self-validating cognition (sva-saṃvitti-saṃvitti-bhāga), which enables it to discover itself and verify itself. The manas is especially self-assured, trusting itself, firmly grasping onto itself—this is the manas's self-validating cognition. It defends itself, protects itself, and has the ability to introspect upon itself.

The manas can introspect upon itself, observe itself, and know itself, but the mind consciousness does not know this, because it lacks wisdom. When we know all dharmas, it is still the mind consciousness that knows them; if the mind consciousness lacks wisdom, even though all dharmas exist, it does not know them.

Only when the wisdom of the mind consciousness grows can the scope of the dharmas it knows expand, so that it comes to know more and more. Especially after the mind consciousness achieves the transformation of consciousness into wisdom, its wisdom can observe and know the functions and roles of the manas, and can discern the functions and roles of the eighth consciousness in an even more subtle way. The knowing ability, observing ability, and wisdom of the mind consciousness can only be perfectly complete upon reaching the buddha-stage, and will no longer increase.