How to Truly Understand the Functions and Roles of the Manas

Why do some people always believe that the seventh consciousness, the manas, can do nothing at all? Because the vast majority of people can only see the surface-level functions and operations of the mind consciousness, and cannot see the functions and operations of the manas, they take all the functions and operations of the five aggregates to belong to the mind consciousness, ignoring and erasing the manas' function as the decision-making consciousness. They do not know that the manas is the forerunner of all dharmas. That all dharmas arise at all, and that the mind consciousness is able to make contact, discern, and process them, is entirely the result of the manas' choice. The manas is the head of the household of the five-aggregate body.

If a good-for-nothing that could do nothing at all were the master of the house, one can well imagine what that household would look like. Yet in the world there are extremely many people of great merit and great wisdom, whose five-aggregate bodies have performed a great deal of wholesome karma and wise karma—all of this is the result of the manas' leadership. Even in animals, the functions and operations of the manas are extremely remarkable, beyond what the six consciousnesses can compare with. Think about it: in a group, large or small, why do subordinate members obey the arrangements and directives of the leader? Apart from power, could there be nothing else? If the leader were incompetent and good at nothing, yet the members obeyed his every command, would these members not be even weaker and more incompetent?

A nation's president or head of state cannot, like the subordinates, be proficient in every specific matter and every specific skill, nor can he take on all the work of his subordinates. He stands at the commanding height, overseeing the whole situation; he cannot go do specific tasks. You cannot say that because the head of state does not come out to deal with the masses directly, does not do specific work, and is not versed in technology, he therefore has no work. He is the leader; he needs to take charge of the overall situation and make coordinated arrangements. The division of labor between him and his subordinates is different, each bears his own responsibility, and they operate in harmony—only thus can the whole nation be governed well.

It is the same with a five-aggregate body. The manas stands at the commanding height, commanding the whole situation. He cannot, like the mind consciousness, deeply and minutely discern specific sense objects, thinking, reasoning, organizing, summarizing, tallying, analyzing, deliberating—finely and ever more finely, with everything in place. His energy does not permit this. Only when meditative concentration (samādhi) reaches a certain level, setting aside many unimportant matters, can his energy become concentrated and vigorous; only when his energy is great can he work in place of the six consciousnesses and dispense with them. An ordinary being's manas can only use the six consciousnesses to handle specific affairs and deal with specific sense objects; otherwise, there would be no need for the six consciousnesses to exist at all.

The manas is a consciousness of continual scrutiny and deliberation, working diligently, operating constantly without interruption. Why, then, do some still say that the manas is nothing at all, that the manas has no function? Those who consider the mind consciousness important and the manas unimportant have failed to recognize who the leader is, who plays the decisive role, and whose work is more arduous. Because the leader is hidden too deeply and he has never seen him, he believes the leader does not exist, or believes that the employee is the leader. A leader does not understand technology; when a technician submits a technical project for review, although the leader does not understand it, he still examines and reviews it, and finally approves it for experimentation. The process and results of the experiment the leader still does not understand. The manas is the leader, the one who makes decisions; the mind consciousness is the technician, providing technical services for the leader. Therefore, with the mind consciousness providing its services, the manas need not attend to every matter personally.