Only When the Manas Realizes It Can One Be Far Removed from False Appearances

To discover the truth, it is not enough for the mind consciousness alone to discover it; the manas must also simultaneously discover the true reality of the dharma realm. Only when the manas realizes it can one depart from false appearances. Only the manas can direct the six consciousnesses to not recognize false appearances and to depart from them; the mind consciousness does not have this authority and cannot be the master. When the manas realizes false appearances, it can at the same time, as the master, depart from them. If only the mind consciousness realizes it, it is still of no use: the manas is together with false appearances at every moment, every second, every instant, so the mind consciousness cannot leave false appearances behind, and one's bodily, verbal, and mental actions cannot be changed.

The manas is like a hitching post for horses: even if the mind consciousness is allowed to run here and there, it must still run around the post of the manas and is not permitted to run far. If the manas hitching post keeps moving and shifting from place to place, can the wild horses of the six consciousnesses remain fixed in one place without being turned and moved along with the manas? Absolutely not. Therefore, only when the skill of studying and practicing the Buddha-dharma reaches the manas is it true skill; only then can one transform one's own body and mind.