The Meanings of the Five Names of the Manas (Part One)

Original text of the Mahāyāna Śraddhotpāda Śāstra (Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna):生灭因缘者。谓诸众生。依心意识转。此义云何。以依阿赖耶识。有无明不觉起。能见能现。能取境界。分别相续。说名为意。

Explanation: The arising and ceasing of all dharmas are manifested through causes and conditions. These causes and conditions include the three transformative consciousnesses (parināma)—the Ālayavijñāna, the manas, and the mind consciousness. Among them, the manas is the most important cause and condition for the arising of all dharmas; all sentient beings transmigrate in dependence upon the manas. Although the Ālayavijñāna is the direct cause for the birth of all conditioned dharmas of arising and ceasing, it is brought about by the manas. Without the manas as cause and condition, the Ālayavijñāna would not give birth to any dharma. The manas, relying on the Ālayavijñāna, and following the ignorance of its own mind, will see all the realm-dharmas born of the Ālayavijñāna; then it manifests within the mind all the realm-dharmas born of the Ālayavijñāna, grasps at all the realm-dharmas born of the Ālayavijñāna, and discriminates them continuously without ever awakening to the fact that it has such ignorance. Such a mind-substance is called the manas.

Original text:此意复有五种异名。一名业识。谓无明力。不觉心动。

Explanation: Such a manas has five different names. The first name is the karmic consciousness (karma-vijñāna). The manas is the master of karma creation; because it has ignorance and does not awaken to its own ignorance, the power of ignorance impels the manas's mind to stir and generate intention. After the intention (manaskāra) arises, contact, feeling, perception, and volition subsequently appear. Once the manas's mind has made its decision, the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses are carried out, leaving behind karmic seeds to be reaped as retribution in later lives, and thus birth and death continue without interruption. Therefore the manas is said to be the karmic consciousness, corresponding to the karmic power of ignorance, corresponding to karmic seeds, and corresponding to birth and death. Of course, through cultivation it will correspond to emptiness, correspond to purity, correspond to tranquility, and correspond to liberation. Therefore cultivation means cultivating the manas: eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa), seeing the mind and seeing the nature, transforming consciousness into wisdom, possessing the seed-wisdom of Yogācāra, and finally attaining buddhahood.

Since the manas corresponds to karmic power and to karmic seeds, the pure karma of eradicating the view of self is retained by the manas, and the pure karma of seeing the mind and seeing the nature is retained by the manas. Only when the manas has eradicated the view of self and has seen the mind and seen its nature can it retain such pure karmic seeds; otherwise the manas cannot retain them, and there will be no such pure karmic retribution in later lives. Likewise, the karmic seeds of evil karma are also retained by the manas. Only when the manas's mind is evil can it create evil karma and retain the seeds of evil karma until later lives. Therefore the manas possesses all the mental concomitants of affliction as well as all the mental concomitants of goodness.

Original text:二名转识。谓依动心。能见境相。

Explanation: The second name of the manas is the transforming consciousness (pravṛtti-vijñāna). "Transforming" means flowing and transmigrating, and also means operating and turning. Relying on the power of ignorance, the manas can cause dharmas to flow out and operate out of the Ālayavijñāna. When the manas's mind stirs, the Ālayavijñāna will accordingly give birth to realms, and the manas will then perceive the marks of those realms. When the mind stirs again, the six consciousnesses will be born and carry out karmic actions, and the functions of the five aggregates will become manifest, so that birth and death in later lives continue without end. Both the realms and the five aggregates appear following the stirring of the manas's mind, and birth and death likewise appear following the stirring of the manas's mind. Therefore the manas is the switch that sets all dharmas in motion; the manas is the transforming consciousness.

Original text:三名现识。谓现一切。诸境界相。犹如明镜。现众色像。现识亦尔。如其五境。对至即现。无有前后。不由功力。

Explanation: The third name of the manas is the manifesting consciousness (ābhāsa-vijñāna). This "manifesting" means presenting or revealing. After the manas perceives all dharmas, it will present all dharmas, and all dharmas will appear as images within the manas's mind. The manas relies on the Ālayavijñāna; whatever realm the Ālayavijñāna transforms and manifests, the manas can discern that realm, and the mind can present that realm—like a bright mirror manifesting all the marks of realms. For example, with the images of the five sense-objects, as soon as the manas makes contact, it immediately presents the images of the five sense-objects. When the Ālayavijñāna gives birth to realms, the manas almost simultaneously, without any sequence of before and after, presents the realms within the mind, without any deliberate processing.

Why is it said to be the images of the five sense-objects, rather than the images of the six sense-objects, or the images of the mental sense-objects? Here the five sense-objects in substance include the mental objects, making six sense-objects in total; the five sense-objects are used as representatives, each of which has its own mental object. This is an abbreviated way of speaking. Otherwise one would have to say: form objects and the mental objects upon form objects, sound objects and the mental objects upon sound objects, scent objects and the mental objects upon scent objects, taste objects and the mental objects upon taste objects, tactile objects and the mental objects upon tactile objects—which would be extremely cumbersome. Hence it is briefly stated as the five sense-objects.

Generally speaking, the manas contacts mental objects and gives rise to the mind consciousness. But how then are the five consciousnesses generated? Some would say that the five consciousnesses arise from the five faculties contacting the five sense-objects. However, the five faculties are material form, not mental dharmas, not conscious minds—how could they actively contact the five sense-objects with the dynamic agency of a conscious mind? In substance, the five faculties contacting the five sense-objects is still brought about under the manas's direction. The manas directs the five faculties to contact the five sense-objects and give rise to the five consciousnesses, while simultaneously contacting mental objects and giving rise to the mind consciousness. Since the manas is the director, the manas also contacts the images of the five sense-objects, and after contact it presents the complete images of the six sense-objects. After making its choice, the six consciousnesses are born to discern and process the images of the six sense-objects. The six consciousnesses discern some of the six sense-objects and not others—this is the role of choice and direction performed by the manas.