The Wisdom of the Manas

The difference in wisdom between the seventh and sixth consciousnesses is simply that the manas cannot make detailed and specific discriminations of the six sense objects the way the mind consciousness can—that is all. Apart from this, the wisdom of the manas is still quite remarkable. Much of the time, when we deal with worldly affairs—especially very urgent matters, very hectic matters—we rely entirely on the manas's experience and wisdom, while the mind consciousness is unable to cope, unable to analyze or resolve things in time, and can only follow the manas's direction and arrangements. This situation can sometimes be called going along with conditions, and sometimes called leaving things to fate, yet in the end everything gets resolved, and sometimes quite satisfactorily and to our liking.

The manas has its own unique great wisdom. For instance, fearlessness in the face of danger, composure and poise, orderliness and methodicalness, lofty aspirations and heroic spirit, a bosom as open as a valley, extraordinary boldness and so on—all of these are the wisdom of the manas, and they are truly remarkable. Especially for those who have been human for many lifetimes, who have served as leaders and generals, as officials and ministers, and those rich in experience—the wisdom of their manas is very powerful. In handling matters, they mostly rely on the wisdom of the manas to decide how to deal with everything, while the mind consciousness often plays only an auxiliary role.

When a great general commands on the battlefield, the urgent decisions and major strategies are often made by relying on the manas's wordless wisdom and experience; the mind consciousness often cannot exert any force at all. A person with merit, with firm convictions, with strategic acumen, when encountering situations, is often very calm, in no hurry to respond or to make decisions; when the time comes, ideas and solutions will automatically emerge—that is relying on solutions devised by the manas, for the manas has its own methods. Having a backbone also relies on the manas: what worldly people call having "an old pig's stubborn mind" means the manas has its own convictions, and the mind consciousness need not intervene.

For a person of great wisdom, a person of sagacity, a rational person, a person of cultivation, the wisdom of the manas is still primary; the mind consciousness need not engage in cunning schemes and stratagems, for the manas has its own arrangements. This great wisdom is the result of the manas's deliberation (manana), and also the result of the manas's seasoned experience.

A talent cannot be cultivated on the spot—that is to say, having the person's mind consciousness learn now and then perfuming the manas is already too late. The person must have possessed the required qualities beforehand, endowed innately—that is, possessed by the manas, wisdom that was successfully perfumed long ago and is innate from birth. What is called the faculty of wisdom, what is called the root of goodness, what is called merit—these all refer to what the manas possesses, which is innate from birth.