The Difference Between the Wisdom of the Manas and the Wisdom of the Mind Consciousness

When encountering an event, one immediately knows the whole story of the matter—swiftly and clearly comprehending it in mind without language, words, or sound. This is the wisdom of the manas, which is very difficult to observe; most people are unaware of it. Whereas when one encounters something and cannot know it immediately, but needs to deliberate, analyze, generalize, organize, compare, and imagine before coming to know it, this is the wisdom of the mind consciousness. The mind consciousness employs language, words, and sounds, utilizing coarse and shallow deliberative functions; this part of its functioning is easy to observe.

Why is it that some things can be known immediately, while others cannot? The moment an event occurs, it is the manas that engages its mental factors of attention (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā). For matters that are very familiar, things one has experienced before, the manas can know them immediately and can autonomously take charge, handling and responding to them. For matters that are unfamiliar and never experienced, the manas cannot know them immediately; even after deliberation (manana) it still does not know them, and so it gives rise to the mind consciousness, letting the mind consciousness discern and deliberate. The manas then deliberates again based on the results of the mind consciousness's analysis, and only then proceeds to handle and respond. The function of the mind consciousness is to assist the manas in discernment. If the manas itself already understands the matter very clearly, it does not need the mind consciousness to discern and deliberate; it directly makes the decision and swiftly handles and responds to the matter.