The Difference Between the Manas and Consciousness-Wisdom

Question: So-called memory is the storing of the content experienced by the first six consciousnesses with the participation of the manas, and later, when needed, the mind consciousness leads the process of recollection; whereas understanding is that, under the guidance of the mind consciousness's wisdom, the manas is prompted to deliberate, so that the manas comprehends the internal connections and principles of things. Therefore, when encountering related problems, there is no need for recollection—the manas directly provides answers and handles them. So when the manas has wisdom, it handles problems concisely and quickly; when the manas lacks wisdom, it has to search through memories, and as a result, handling problems takes longer and is inefficient. Is this understanding correct?

Answer: The above understanding is roughly correct. Recollection is carried out by the mind consciousness, but it is led and decided by the manas. Understanding is comprehension led primarily by the mind consciousness, and it also involves, to a greater or lesser degree, the comprehension of the manas. When the manas lacks wisdom, it must go through the mind consciousness's recollection, then compare, contrast, and weigh things before making a decision that may be right or wrong. The shallower the wisdom, the longer the time spent comparing and weighing, the more hesitant and indecisive one is, and the less confidence one has. That kind of decisive resolution—cutting through the tangle like a swift blade, without the mind consciousness needing to think, analyze, compare, or weigh—is the manas's direct decision, which may or may not be wise. Handling matters quietly, without racking one's brains, without thinking things over repeatedly, silently and automatically resolving matters—all of this is the wisdom of the manas. People who are seasoned and adept at handling affairs all have wisdom in their manas; with rich experience, they can handle matters harmoniously and without obstruction, leaving no leverage for others to exploit.

Students whose manas lacks wisdom generally rely on the mind consciousness's rote memorization; they cannot improvise freely, and when they encounter questions that are not knowledge-based, they are at a loss. Students whose manas has wisdom never bother to memorize; they always understand the problem first and then improvise at will. Therefore, in school examinations, those who score high are not necessarily students with genuine wisdom—it depends on whether the exam questions are knowledge-based content or content requiring improvisation, whether the exam tests knowledge or tests wisdom.                 The Buddhadharma is the same. A person who, once asked, can expound a whole set of theories is not necessarily someone with wisdom of real realization. If he has read many books, is broadly learned and widely informed, has extensive knowledge and strong memory, and can skillfully use the mind consciousness to organize, categorize, summarize, and analyze the dharmas he has studied, he can put together a theoretical system—but this does not mean it is wisdom of realization; it may also be merely an accumulation of knowledge.

The accumulation of knowledge cannot eradicate afflictions; it only shows that the mind consciousness is clever. Studying the Dharma with someone whose mind consciousness is clever, one can gain a great deal of theoretical knowledge, but realization is very difficult. Studying the Dharma with someone who has realization makes realization easier; such a person's knowledge may not be extensive, but after realization, his wisdom grows, and he can gradually expand the breadth of his knowledge and supplement the necessary theoretical knowledge.

When the manas has wisdom, the wisdom is deep, there are no afflictions, the vision is grand, the mind is broad, there is boldness and courage, the outlook is far-reaching, one judges major issues of right and wrong accurately, and one does not do wrong things. The cleverness of the mind consciousness, however, lacks profound great wisdom, and the capacity of mind is not large enough—cleverness may even backfire on the clever. A person's innate wisdom is all brought along by the manas; it is the wisdom of the manas. Wisdom acquired after birth is newly learned; it is the wisdom of the mind consciousness, though it may also include the wisdom of the manas.