The Relationship between Thought-Free Spiritual Knowing and the Manas

"Ling" means keen and agile; "leaving behind thoughts" means temporarily departing from thoughts and mental notions. Such knowing includes that of the mind consciousness as well as that of the manas. For the mind consciousness, leaving behind thoughts is relatively easy to accomplish; for the manas, it is relatively difficult, but not impossible. Why can the mind consciousness leave behind thoughts? First, the mind consciousness itself no longer has the desire to discriminate against objects, nor any matters it dwells upon. Second, the manas also has no coarse thoughts or notions, no desires or ideas, and does not cling to sense objects; only then will it not mobilize the mind consciousness to deliberate, to think, to imagine, or to fabricate.

As for those especially subtle thoughts and notions of the manas, they manifest bodily, verbal, and mental actions without the participation of the mind consciousness, and the mind consciousness is also unable to detect or take part in them. At this time the manas is in a somewhat pure state, that is, a state of meditative concentration (samādhi), a state without desire or seeking. Therefore, when the mind consciousness is in a state free of thoughts, it must be that the manas is pure and abiding in meditative concentration, no matter how deep the concentration or how long it lasts.

In fact, at this time there are still subtle thoughts; without thoughts, how could there be knowing? It is merely that when one is extremely familiar with the object, one can know it without effortful discrimination; at this time the mental activity is extremely slight, and this is called "the numinous awareness free of thoughts" (li-nian ling-zhi). The term "numinous awareness free of thoughts" does not come from the Buddhist sūtras; the sūtras contain no specific description of it. It is a concept proposed by later people according to their own ideas, and it is not very accurate. Discerning this requires very profound cultivation in Yogācāra and keen powers of observation to observe and distinguish.