The Understanding of the Mind Consciousness and the Understanding of the Manas

The wisdom of a single thought in resonance refers to the manas, not to the mind consciousness. Therefore, when Chan speaks of sudden enlightenment, it means the manas suddenly understands and realizes awakening. The mind consciousness comes to understand gradually through thinking, analysis, and inference; the two are different. When the mind consciousness understands, it is quite plain and unremarkable; when the manas understands, it is like a sudden breakthrough—He suddenly discovers a new continent, feeling novelty and astonishment, as if it penetrated to the marrow, and that is why reactions of body and mind occur. Of course, the manas's understanding and realization also have levels: some are substantive, and some are not. When the manas is suddenly enlightened or understands a certain principle, it may be deeply moved, but this is not necessarily the ultimate realization.

Everyone knows the principle that the body is impermanent, arising and ceasing, illusory, and not self; yet to eliminate the view of the body and witness the fruit is extremely difficult. This is because of the manas's habitual cognition since beginningless kalpas, which takes the body to be the self—an idea deeply rooted, so that without contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) of direct perception, one cannot overturn the ingrained notions, cannot accept that the body is not self, and is unable to accept it. This requires the manas, based on the mind consciousness's thinking, to engage in its own deliberation (manana) and personally verify it; only when the evidence is sufficient will He be compelled to confirm this principle.