Does manas correspond to meditative concentration (samādhi)?

Wisdom refers not only to the wisdom of the mind consciousness but also to the wisdom of the manas. The wisdom of the mind consciousness gives rise to the wisdom of the manas, and ultimately it is consolidated in the manas and stored as seeds. In later lives, when conditions are encountered and the seeds sprout, great wisdom can again be born. Without meditative concentration (samādhi), only the mind consciousness would have wisdom on its own, and the manas could not have wisdom, because the manas engages in extensive grasping and cannot concentrate its attention on deliberation (manana) and investigation; therefore it cannot realize the Dharma, does not know the selflessness of the Great and Small Vehicles, and cannot give birth to wisdom.

If the manas has no wisdom, it cannot eliminate the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi), the view of doubt, and the view of holding to precepts and rites; the subsequent bonds of birth-and-death cannot be severed, and it cannot correctly and reasonably guide the six consciousnesses in their practice. No matter how much wisdom the mind consciousness has, it is of little use. The mind consciousness may believe that the tathāgatagarbha is real, that all dharmas are illusory transformations, and that the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) are selfless; but if the manas does not understand this, ignorance cannot be broken. Since beginningless ignorance (avidyā) still remains, it will continue to draw the six consciousnesses into creating karma born of ignorance; afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion cannot be diluted, let alone subdued and eliminated; liberation of mind (cetovimutti) and liberation by wisdom (paññāvimutti) cannot be attained; and fundamental ignorance and dust-like ignorance cannot be exhausted. One can neither escape the three realms nor ultimately attain buddhahood.

Liberation is chiefly the liberation of the manas from the bondage of birth-and-death with respect to the dharmas of the three realms, as well as from its grasping and bondage with respect to all dharmas. When the wisdom of the mind consciousness and the manas is fulfilled in the Small Vehicle, one becomes an arhat of the fourth fruit with liberation by wisdom; when the wisdom of the mind consciousness and the manas in the Mahāyāna gradually becomes complete and perfect, one can transform consciousness into wisdom and ultimately attain buddhahood. Therefore this wisdom must ultimately be consolidated in the manas.

Since great wisdom is manifested not only in the mind consciousness but also in the manas, and since the transformation of consciousness into wisdom includes not only that of the mind consciousness but even more that of the manas, then which consciousness does meditative concentration stabilize, and with which consciousness does it correspond? Both the mind consciousness and the manas have meditative concentration, and both correspond to it. First, the manas hands the dharma over to the mind consciousness for deliberation. The mind consciousness is at first scattered, then gradually develops concentration; its deliberation and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) draw the attention of the manas, and attention gradually converges on what the mind consciousness is deliberating—thus preliminary concentration arises. The mind consciousness can then gradually focus on deliberation and contemplative practice. As the manas's attention strengthens, meditative concentration deepens, the mind consciousness becomes increasingly focused, and its deliberation becomes increasingly fine and detailed. Relying on this, the manas deliberates deeply and subtly, can comprehend the principles, and thereby realizes the Dharma. This is the method of using contemplative practice to induce meditative concentration and then to strengthen the power of contemplative practice.

On the other hand, when the mind consciousness cultivates concentration, it prompts the manas to reduce its grasping and to gather its attention. Afterwards, when the manas decides to deliberate on the meaning of the Dharma, the mind consciousness focuses its attention on deliberating and contemplating a single dharma-meaning. The content of the mind consciousness's contemplation is transmitted to the manas moment by moment. The manas may or may not have determination (adhimokṣa) regarding the information transmitted; accordingly, wisdom may or may not be born. Whether wisdom can be born also depends on many factors, such as whether the thirty-seven aids to the path are complete, how the practice of precepts, concentration, and wisdom is going, whether afflictions have been subdued, and whether the mind's disposition has been softened and tamed.

If one can deliberate single-pointedly and contemplate deeply and subtly, it shows that both the mind consciousness and the manas can concentrate their attention, and both possess a certain power of concentration. When the six consciousnesses manifest meditative concentration, the manas must have concentration; if the manas has no concentration, the meditative concentration of the six consciousnesses cannot possibly appear. This is because whether the six consciousnesses have thought or no thought is decided by the manas. If the manas grasps everywhere, wanting to discern all objects of the six sense-objects and unwilling to discern only one object, it is impossible for the six consciousnesses to be without thought or to focus on a single object.

When the six consciousnesses are steeped in the practice of the Buddha's Dharma, if this steeping can reach the manas and influence and carry along the manas, then the manas too will have concentration. The concentration of the manas first means that the manas can become settled upon the Dharma—settled upon the dharma of the selflessness of the five aggregates to study and cultivate it diligently, settled upon the thirty-seven aids to the path, or settled upon the bodhisattva's six perfections. Only when the manas becomes diligent can the six consciousnesses be diligent; if the manas is slack, the six consciousnesses cannot possibly be diligent. If the manas is complete in the thirty-seven aids to the path, the six consciousnesses are necessarily complete. The manas is the commander that supervises and controls the six consciousnesses; the six consciousnesses are necessarily directed and dispatched by the manas. Therefore the key to cultivating the Path lies entirely in the manas.

After the manas, through its mental engagement, becomes settled upon the Dharma, the six consciousnesses can be settled upon the Dharma without scattering; only then can the six consciousnesses engage in contemplative practice with respect to the Dharma. Wherever the manas is settled, the six consciousnesses are settled there. Because the six consciousnesses revolve in accordance with the manas, the manas's baton must direct the six consciousnesses at every moment, instant by instant. If the manas is not settled, it waves its baton around directing things chaotically—can the six consciousnesses be settled? They fundamentally cannot. Only when the manas diligently cultivates the Buddha's Dharma can the six consciousnesses be diligent. Therefore concentration refers first to the concentration of the manas, the concentration corresponding to the manas.

When the manas is settled upon the Buddha's Dharma in cultivation, constantly mindful of contemplating the illusoriness of the five aggregates, then the six consciousnesses can engage in contemplation. If the manas wants to investigate Chan, considering the dharma of the tathāgatagarbha important and wanting to realize it, the manas supervises the six consciousnesses to investigate Chan; only then can the six consciousnesses be settled upon this dharma of investigating Chan and diligently cultivate the Mahāyāna Dharma. Therefore, if the manas is not settled, the six consciousnesses have no concentration. In the four dhyānas and eight concentrations cultivated specifically through sitting meditation, whose concentration does the concentration mainly refer to? Of course it also refers to that of the manas. If the manas has not been subdued, if it is not settled upon sitting meditation but still grasps at dharmas everywhere, clinging to and pondering other dharmas with miscellaneous and disordered thoughts, then it is impossible for the six consciousnesses to sit in meditation, cultivate concentration, and extinguish mental thoughts.

Therefore, whether it is the concentration of the four dhyānas and eight concentrations, or the concentration of being settled upon the Dharma, the focus upon the Dharma—these mainly refer to the manas; only then can the six consciousnesses be settled, rest the mind, eliminate initial application and sustained examination (vitarka-vicāra), and even extinguish the conscious mind. Only when the manas moves can the six consciousnesses move; wherever the manas points, the six consciousnesses will surely strike. To subdue the six consciousnesses, one must subdue the manas; to subdue the five aggregates, one must first subdue the manas.

Attaining buddhahood also mainly consists in successfully steeping the manas—letting the manas realize all dharmas and know all dharmas, exhausting beginningless ignorance and the delusion of dust-like ignorance. When the manas is complete and perfect in precepts, concentration, and wisdom, the sentient being will inevitably attain buddhahood. Who does this sentient being refer to? It refers to the manas. Therefore the Vimalakīrti Sūtra speaks of the mental activities of sentient beings: the tathāgatagarbha knows the mental activities of sentient beings, mainly knowing the mental activities of the manas. The sentient being is the manas, and the manas is the sentient being. Since the manas takes the five aggregates as self, the manas's self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) must be eliminated.