Why Does Manas Not Correspond to Language, Written Words, and Sounds?

Language, written characters, and sounds—the functioning of these dharmas—cannot operate apart from the body faculty and body consciousness. They are produced through the joint operation of body consciousness and mental consciousness, representing the functional activity of the five-concomitant consciousness. The emergence of language and sounds originates first from the volition of the mental faculty (manas), which intends to express one's thoughts and ideas. When the mental faculty generates a thought, brain waves fluctuate, and the intention is transmitted via the central nervous system to the system or area corresponding to the body faculty. This causes wind or a flow of qi to arise in the dantian region. This current of qi surges upward, reaching the root of the tongue, where the sound stream emerges, thus forming language and sounds.

Therefore, speaking requires energy (qi force). If the energy is insufficient, the voice becomes faint, or no sound can be produced. Language and sounds are produced through the combined and harmonious operation of mental consciousness and body consciousness, requiring the cooperation of the body faculty. The tongue, being part of the body faculty at this time, does not function to perceive tactile or taste objects. Regarding written characters, writing or typing is produced through the combined and harmonious operation of mental consciousness and body consciousness, requiring the cooperation of the body faculty. Solitary consciousness (manovijñāna) can have internal mental sounds, and written characters can also appear mentally. When solitary consciousness introspects, it can know its own mental voice and the appearance of written characters.

The above pertains to the verbal formations (vākkarman) and mental formations (manaskarman) of the six consciousnesses, as well as bodily formations (kāyakarman). Bodily formations can only be accomplished through the combined and harmonious operation of mental consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses, requiring the cooperation of the five faculties (indriya). Without the five faculties, the operation of bodily formations cannot be completed. The formations of body, speech, and mind by the six consciousnesses are instigated by the mental faculty (manas), being the function of the mental faculty's volition. The mental faculty is like a commander, while the six consciousnesses are the executors of the commands. When the commander generates an intention, brain waves transmit, and after the command is issued, the entire nervous system operates.

The intention of the mental faculty is like a signal or a cipher, which mental consciousness can partially or mostly understand. With insufficient wisdom, it cannot be fully understood. When the six consciousnesses execute commands and operate concretely, language, written characters, and sounds then appear; this is the functional activity of the operating system. The command system operates only in the form of cipher codes, requiring no cooperation from the five faculties, and thus the mental formation of the mental faculty is completed. Without the cooperation of the five faculties, written characters, language, and sounds, of course, cannot appear.

When solitary consciousness departs from the material body, without the cooperation of the five faculties, there are similarly no written characters, language, or sounds—one cannot speak or write. Mental thoughts are also similar to codes or ciphers, but mental consciousness itself understands them completely. After understanding, with the cooperation of the five faculties, written characters, language, and sounds can be expressed. If mental consciousness understands the mental thoughts of the mental faculty, it can similarly express them using written characters, language, and sounds. Therefore, written characters, language, and sounds are tools for expressing mental thoughts. The mental faculty cannot express itself in this way; it can only express through mental consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses, except when possessing spiritual powers (ṛddhi).

The codes and ciphers of the eighth consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna) can only be understood when the sixth and seventh consciousnesses transform consciousness into wisdom (āśraya-parāvṛtti) and attain a considerable degree of the wisdom of the path (mārga-jñāna). Before this, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses cannot decipher them. However, they can enjoy the benefits and provisions bestowed by the eighth consciousness, yet without realizing it, mistakenly believing these benefits were obtained through their own efforts or are naturally theirs. Codes require wisdom to decipher; without wisdom, one's efforts become counterproductive. The terms "codes" and "ciphers" are metaphors used to illustrate the form of mental thoughts; there are no actual codes or ciphers.