Manas Never Rests

The part that the mind consciousness has already discerned does not need to be thought over again; the manas deliberates on it silently by itself. The way the manas deliberates is very special, differing from the thinking of the mind consciousness. What is meant by "special" is that it is extremely difficult for the mind consciousness to observe the deliberative nature and mode of deliberation of the manas. Therefore, many people deny that the manas has any thinking or reasoning activity, denying that the manas has any mental activity at all. These people are far too reckless and far too self-assured.

When there is no speech and the mind is silent, the mind consciousness is not thinking, yet the manas is working, never having stopped. The mind consciousness can frequently cease its thinking activity and enter a state of rest and sleep, but the manas never rests; it continuously and unceasingly ponders and deliberates on all kinds of issues, in a very hidden manner that the mind consciousness cannot detect. When the manas deliberates, it does so very deeply, hard to observe, and it can consume the brain's energy, causing neural fluctuations of brain waves.

Therefore, when a person is not speaking or analyzing, we must never assume that this person has no thoughts, no views, no ideas, that his mental activity has stopped and all is quiet. It is not so. His manas is rapidly turning and operating, deliberating, weighing, and verifying, very deeply and very covertly. Afterwards, his mind will have a settled rule, an idea, a position, a decision—but he does not necessarily have to say it out, does not necessarily have to express it, does not necessarily have to let others know. Yet in his mind there is indeed strength; his attitude becomes resolute, even unshakable.

Whereas when the mind consciousness, through thinking, analysis, and reflection, arrives at a result and a decision, the mind is not actually like that—it still hesitates and cannot make up its mind, because the manas does not know or understand, and there must be doubt in the mind.