What the manas is, that is what the self is.

By coming into contact with and understanding the dharma of the manas, how many detours one has avoided, how many kalpas of arduous cultivation one has been spared, and how much suffering across eons has been averted. The entire logic of cultivation lies completely in the manas. Without understanding the manas, one cannot clearly comprehend the dharma of attaining buddhahood or the path to buddhahood. If one remains only at the level of the mind consciousness, always playing tricks with the mind consciousness, then when the mind consciousness ceases, what are you? Everyone should contemplate this point carefully. Only by properly regulating and rectifying the manas' original nature can one transform oneself, attain liberation, and cause karmic seeds to be transformed into purity, and only then can one finally attain buddhahood. Frequently ask yourself in your mind: when the mind consciousness ceases, what am I? In fact, whatever the manas is, that is what you are.

When an emperor wants to establish a crown prince, hoping the prince will uphold the family and defend the nation, and one son is healthy while the other is often ill with his survival uncertain—which son will the emperor establish as crown prince? Only when the emperor has lost his mind would he establish the son whose survival is uncertain as crown prince, hoping that he will carry on the family line and defend the nation. It is the same with Buddhist practitioners: only muddled-headed people place all their hopes on the mind consciousness, thinking it is enough for the mind consciousness to realize the fruits, enough for the mind consciousness to see the mind and know the tathāgatagarbha. But after the mind consciousness ceases, is one not still just an ordinary person?

There are also some people who say: the manas need not eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi); it can directly eradicate self-grasping. Eradicating self-grasping without eradicating the view of self is also a kind of invention—the key is whether this invention actually works. Others say: without the manas seeing the mind and realizing the tathāgatagarbha, one can directly transform consciousness into wisdom and directly attain buddhahood. This is an even greater invention—the key is what use this invention has. If all these inventions could actually work, then learning Buddhism would be far too easy, achievable in the near future—one would only need to fiddle with the mind consciousness, and one could attain buddhahood merely by memorizing the Tripiṭaka and the twelve divisions of the scriptures. But what are the facts? Attaining buddhahood requires three great immeasurable kalpas to eliminate all ignorance, until ignorance is completely eradicated—it is by no means easy.