Spiritual Practice Is the Purification of the Mind

The manifestation of the solitary shadow state occurs when the manas grasps at the dharma-dust and attends to it, giving rise to a thought. The Tathagatagarbha then gives rise to the isolated consciousness to fulfill the manas's instruction and realize its thoughts. Whatever dharma the manas attends to, the isolated consciousness arises upon that dharma, subsequently operating according to the manas's intention. Only after a thought arises in consciousness is there knowing. What is known is a dharma, akin to a piece of information, a type of dharma-dust unrelated to the five dusts. It might be a thought or concept, a memory, an aspiration for the future, or an analysis, judgment, or contemplation of a problem. If the manas wants to recall, consciousness remembers past people and events. If the manas wants to know the meaning of a certain statement, consciousness contemplates and analyzes that statement. If the manas considers the next day's itinerary, consciousness contemplates the arrangements for the next day's journey.

The arising of thoughts in the isolated consciousness is guided by the manas; it arises, ceases, and moves according to the thoughts and ideas of the manas. For example, when the manas thinks of a person, the eighth consciousness immediately presents the dharmas related to that person. After the manas contacts and considers them, it makes a decision to deliberate further. Consequently, the isolated consciousness appears, attending to the dharmas related to this person, involving contact, feeling, perception, and volition. After this, the manas, upon knowing, will make a decision. Subsequently, the isolated consciousness may continue to operate more deeply or disappear from this dharma and appear upon another dharma that the manas is grasping at.

The various grasping activities of the manas give rise to the distracting thoughts of the isolated consciousness. At the very moment a thought first arises, no state is manifested. The first moment is knowing the thought has arisen; only then does the image of the state appear. The arising of the thought and the manifestation of the state involve a process. The state was originally there, but without consciousness, it cannot be known. When consciousness appears, the first and second moments of discernment are incomplete and unclear. It is during the third and fourth moments of discernment that the dharma becomes relatively clearly manifested, allowing a conclusion to be drawn, and an outline of the dharma to emerge. Only after this does analytical thinking occur, clarifying the dharma.

Most distracting thoughts in the mind are from past experiences, called previously experienced realms. It is evident that the manas often, intentionally or unintentionally, clings to dharmas, with strong habitual forces. The mind is not empty; it cannot let go of all past experiences involving people, events, and principles, keeping these dharmas swirling in the heart, unwilling to abandon them. They pile up in the heart like garbage, filthy and impure, yet one never thinks to clean or sweep them away. Spiritual practice entails regularly cleaning and sweeping the hygiene within the heart, undertaking a great cleansing and clearing to maintain the purity of the mind-ground. Only then can the chamber of the mind become bright and clean. This cleaning is led and supervised by consciousness, with the manas giving consent. It is still consciousness that performs the cleaning, devising strategies and carrying out the tasks. The manas only needs to nod, issue orders, and make the final decision.