The Discrimination of the Nature-Object by the Manas and the Mind Consciousness

The objective realm (pratyakṣa-viṣaya) is the shadow of the six sense objects manifested by the tathāgatagarbha based on the true nature of external objects; it is composed of particles of the four great elements within the supreme faculty (indriya). The seventh consciousness, the manas, contacts and discerns it first, while the mind consciousness contacts and discerns it afterward. If the seventh consciousness contacts these images but does not make a definite, detailed discernment, the six consciousnesses cannot be brought forth to discern them, because when the manas does not need the six consciousnesses as its tools of discernment, the tathāgatagarbha will not fabricate the six consciousnesses as tools. It is impossible for the seventh consciousness not to contact the six sense objects; relying on the tathāgatagarbha, like a pavilion by the water that gets the moon's reflection first, it can borrow the light and know everything first. As for what exactly it will do after knowing, that depends on the cultivation of the manas.