The Fundamental Alteration of All Dharmas Lies in the Power of Manas

There is often a phenomenon where, after becoming friends with someone, two people do not deliberately imitate each other, yet unconsciously their tone, gestures, and catchphrases become increasingly similar, often leading others to remark, "You two are becoming more and more alike." This phenomenon is called "interactive synchrony" in psychology. If one is with someone they dislike, no resemblance will occur even after an eternity; it only appears between two people who like and appreciate each other. The most obvious manifestation is among family members—parents and children—who resemble each other in habits, speech, demeanor, and even facial features.

The principle behind this is that when one person delights in another, the manas (the mental faculty) accepts the other person. Through prolonged contact, thoughts, words, and actions gradually align. When the manas inwardly approves and accommodates the other, observing their voice and appearance, the manas unconsciously learns from them, resulting in resemblance.

When the mind transforms, the appearance can transform; when minds are alike, appearances can also become alike. Practicing Buddhism and cultivation is also a process of continuously changing one’s appearance. If one’s appearance does not become more kind, simple, steady, and amiable, or if it does not become more dignified and approachable than before, then the practice has not yet been effective—the mind has not changed. This is because when the manas changes, the seeds (karmic imprints) change, prompting the tathagatagarbha (Buddha-nature storehouse) to alter the external voice and appearance. If only the consciousness changes while the manas remains unchanged, the tathagatagarbha cannot transform the inner and outer aspects of sentient beings, because the seeds have not changed.

Transformation begins with the consciousness aligning with the other, followed by the consciousness influencing the manas. When the manas changes, karma changes. This is because the manas is the sovereign consciousness, capable of exerting a decisive influence over all dharmas (phenomena), and the tathagatagarbha submits to the sovereign consciousness. If the consciousness and manas are not in harmony, observe: ultimately, which does the tathagatagarbha submit to? Whose decision produced the result? Of course, it still submits to the manas, cooperating with its choices. This demonstrates that the manas possesses the power to cause the tathagatagarbha to transform all dharmas.