The Perfuming of Mind Consciousness and the Direct Realization of the Manas

The mind consciousness constantly permeates and conditions the manas, in hopes of changing the manas's inherent cognition and views. For the mind consciousness, understanding all dharmas is not difficult; what is difficult is the manas's understanding and cognition. Changing the manas's views is extremely difficult, but once the manas's views are changed, attaining the fruits of realization becomes something easily within reach, and seeing the mind, realizing one's nature, and accomplishing various contemplative practices (vipaśyanā-caryā) all become easily within reach as well. Once the manas attains the fruit of realization, its views and ways of thinking are instantly transformed.

The mind consciousness's understanding followed by permeating the manas is the prerequisite; the subsequent work—namely, the most essential work—is to let the manas personally investigate and deliberate (manasikāra/manana), and only afterward can there be personal realization. Without this prerequisite, everything is mere intellectual understanding.

As the ancient saying goes:三岁孩子说得，八十老翁做不得。Some people can speak at the level of a Buddha's realm, taking the Buddha's realization as their own; yet by the time they have truly realized and accomplished it themselves, they have already become a Buddha. The meaning is that understanding a problem is extremely easy, whereas truly realizing it is difficult beyond difficulty. That is why sages are rare, exceedingly rare—it is not like some people who read a couple of books, do a bit of intellectual understanding, and then a sage suddenly emerges out of nowhere.