The Mind's Root Wisdom Is the Key

All eight consciousnesses possess the mental factor of wisdom. Setting aside the wisdom of the eighth consciousness for now, among the mental factors of wisdom of the first seven consciousnesses, the mental factor of wisdom of the seventh consciousness, the manas (mental faculty), is the most crucial and pivotal in cultivation and realization. It represents the fundamental level of wisdom of a sentient being. Because the manas determines the arising and functioning of the six consciousnesses, governs all bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses, and to some extent determines the wisdom of the six consciousnesses, the first six consciousnesses are subordinate to the manas. Therefore, the wisdom of the manas plays a decisive role, concerning the life, death, survival of sentient beings, and whether they attain liberation or remain bound to the cycle of birth and death.

If the manas lacks wisdom, even if the six consciousnesses possess wisdom, it is of no avail. The karmic actions created by the six consciousnesses are governed by the manas. The nature of the karmic seeds is determined by the mental activities of the manas; what kind of karmic results and retributions will manifest in future lives is determined by the mental activities of the manas; whether future existences entail the cycle of birth and death or liberation and Buddhahood is determined by the mental activities of the manas. Therefore, the wisdom to sever the view of self, the wisdom of realization, and all samadhi wisdom are attained through the manas. Without the wisdom of the manas, spiritual cultivation cannot bear fruit, including the initial fruit of stream-entry (srotāpanna) and the stage leading to it, as well as all the transformations during the stage of an ordinary person.