The Neutral Feeling (upekṣā-vedanā) of the Manas

Neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā) is a feeling in which neither suffering nor pleasure is felt. Saying that the manas has neutral feeling is partially reasonable: the manas is neutral toward bodily contact and does not directly experience the realms of the six sense objects. No matter how much the physical body aches, the manas does not feel the pain; it is the body consciousness and the mind consciousness that feel pain. When there is no body consciousness and no mind consciousness, the physical body does not feel pain. For example, during surgery, if the body consciousness and mind consciousness are present, a person is awake and will certainly feel intense pain. In order to eliminate the sensation of pain, anesthetics are administered, causing the body consciousness to cease first, and then the mind consciousness to cease; in this way, the physical body does not feel pain during the operation.

When one has a toothache, after falling asleep the six consciousnesses cease and the pain is no longer felt, but the inflammation in the tooth still exists, and upon waking the pain continues; sometimes one can even be awakened by the pain in the middle of the night. Why can one be awakened by pain in the middle of the night? During a coma, although the body is in terrible condition, no pain is felt; upon waking, the pain becomes unbearable. When undergoing retribution in hell, one only ceases to feel pain after fainting from the agony, but the power of karma will not allow the sinner to remain unconscious; when the karmic wind blows, the sinner revives and continues to undergo retribution. In meditative concentration (samādhi), the sensation of pain also diminishes or disappears, because the six consciousnesses either vanish or become very faint.

Therefore, the sensation of pain is a feeling experienced jointly by the body consciousness and the mind consciousness; the manas does not have such a feeling. Even if it did, the mind consciousness would not know it and could not observe it. Sentient beings take the feelings of the six consciousnesses as their feelings. When the six consciousnesses cease or become faint, no matter what feelings or mental activities the manas may have, the mind consciousness does not know them. Not knowing, one assumes the manas has no feelings, no mental activities, or one says the manas is very simple and of shallow wisdom.

When the functions of the manas become powerful enough to replace the six consciousnesses, all feelings belong to the manas; but by then the manas's cultivation of meditative concentration and wisdom is already supremely excellent, and its feelings are almost entirely neutral, with hardly any emotional fluctuation. The manas of ordinary sentient beings still has feelings of suffering and pleasure, not merely neutral feeling; it has psychological feelings similar to those of the mind consciousness—feeling wronged, oppressed, depressed, resentful, or joyful, happy, excited—with great emotional fluctuation. Only thus do emotions such as towering rage, dancing with glee, and joy showing on the face arise.