Are the Karmas of Body, Speech, and Mind Created by Consciousness or Manas?

All bodily, verbal, and mental actions are fabricated by consciousness, driven by the ignorance of the mental faculty (manas). If the mental faculty were free from ignorance, it would not impel consciousness to fabricate actions tainted by ignorance. This is explained in the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination: the ignorance of the mental faculty gives rise to the mental factor of volition (cetanā) within the mental faculty, creating the choice to engage in bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Following this choice, consciousness and the five sensory consciousnesses arise, carrying out bodily, verbal, and mental actions that align with the mental faculty's inclinations and decisions. Here, the mental faculty is the master, while consciousness merely follows its direction.

For example, just as a five-year-old child sent out to buy soy sauce is directed by an adult—where the adult manages household necessities like firewood, rice, oil, and salt at home and sends the child to buy more when supplies run low—or just as an employee’s work is assigned and managed by a supervisor, requiring the employee to follow the supervisor’s directives—or just as the operations of all sectors in society are deployed by the nation’s top leadership, with subordinate units executing tasks according to the higher authorities’ plans without defiance—so too are the actions of sentient beings governed by the mental faculty.

Outwardly, the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of sentient beings appear to be fabricated by consciousness and the five sensory consciousnesses. In essence, however, they reflect the intentions and inclinations of the mental faculty, manifesting its habits and tendencies. The harmonious collaboration between the master (mental faculty) and servant (consciousness) ensures the coordinated functioning of the five aggregates (skandhas). If this collaboration fails, it may lead to schizophrenia or mental breakdown in the mental faculty, resulting in mental illness. Of course, when the mental faculty lacks understanding of certain matters, it may defer to the opinions and views of consciousness, sometimes even following blindly without fully comprehending consciousness’s proposals. In such cases, consciousness appears dominant. Yet, if the mental faculty possesses wisdom, consciousness can never surpass it in strength; the mental faculty will always remain the master, making decisions independently.