The Deliberative Nature of the Manas

Here is a case to offer the Dharma master: I have a certain problem; after entering a state of meditative concentration (samādhi) and raising the question, I directly observe and see the solution to the problem. The solution does not come as the result of thinking, but as the result of direct observation.

Analysis of the case: The "thinking" he refers to here means the surface-level deliberative function of the mind consciousness. But as long as the problem is handed over to the manas, and the mind consciousness does not think on the surface, the manas has its own unique capacity for deliberation (manasikāra) and thinking power, which ordinary people's mind consciousness cannot observe or know. Although the mind consciousness does not deliberate or think, after a certain time an answer still emerges. Where does this answer come from? It is deliberated out by the manas itself; the manas's deliberative function is truly remarkable. In the final stage of investigating Chan, it is mostly the manas's deliberative function that operates. Whether or not most people acknowledge this fact, it remains a fact.

A wise person would never be one of that majority.