The Difference Between the Wisdom of the Manas and the Wisdom of the Mind Consciousness

When encountering an event, one immediately knows the whole story of the matter—swiftly and clearly comprehending it in the mind without language, words, or sound—this is the wisdom of the manas, which is extremely difficult to observe, and most people are unaware of it. Whereas when one cannot immediately know something upon encountering it, and instead needs to deliberate, analyze, summarize, organize, compare, and imagine before coming to know it, this is the wisdom of the mind consciousness. The mind consciousness employs language, words, and sounds, utilizing coarse and shallow deliberative functions, and this part of the functioning is easy to observe.

Why can some things be known immediately, while others cannot? The moment an event occurs, the manas engages in attention, contact, feeling, perception, and mental activity (volition). For matters that are very familiar to the manas—things experienced before—the manas can know them immediately, and can automatically take charge and handle and respond to them. For matters that are unfamiliar and never experienced, the manas cannot know them immediately, and even after deliberation (manasikāra) it still does not know them; thereupon the mind consciousness arises, letting the mind consciousness discern and deliberate. The manas then deliberates again based on the results of the mind consciousness's analysis, and only then proceeds to handle and respond. The function of the mind consciousness is to assist the manas in discerning. If the manas itself already clearly understands the matter, it does not need the mind consciousness to discern and deliberate; it directly makes the decision and swiftly handles and responds to the matter.