Levels of Permeation Through Theory

Learning and cultivation occur at two levels: initially at the shallow level of the mind consciousness, and only at the end can one reach the deep level of the manas. In the learning of any theoretical knowledge, it is always the mind consciousness that begins to learn first; at the initial stage it has not yet reached the manas. While the mind consciousness learns, it simultaneously perfumes the manas. When the perfuming succeeds, the theoretical knowledge is grasped in hand, becoming one's own genuine insight—one's own learning and skill—which can be brought into play anytime and anywhere, without obstruction, and without being forgotten. Only knowledge grasped by the mind consciousness can be forgotten, because it is learned, something belonging to others and not one's own. What belongs to oneself will not be forgotten, nor does it need to be deliberately held in memory; it is available whenever used. This is called the flowing forth from one's own mind, not a parrot mimicking speech. In the realization of the Buddha-Dharma, some also call it the flowing forth from self-nature (svabhāva).