The Key to Managing Bodily, Verbal, and Mental Actions Lies in Taming the Manas

If one manages one's own mind and manas well, one can manage well the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses. The manas of an arhat has long been tamed, with afflictions eliminated; there is nothing in the world for him to linger over or crave. From the stage of the non-returner onward, his mind has attained liberation (cetovimutti), and his bodily, verbal, and mental actions are pure. When going out on alms rounds to beg for food, he keeps his eyes on the ground a foot ahead, with lowered brows and downcast eyes, paying no heed to the sides or other directions; his eyes do not touch indiscriminately, his mind does not think randomly—either single-minded or without mind. When his eyes inevitably come into contact with material sense-objects, he knows the form and stops there, giving rise to neither feeling nor perception, still less grasping; he leaves no karmic seeds, takes no further rebirth, and his deportment in the four postures moves the assemblies of humans and devas.

If there is external conditioning from the environment, the mind consciousness is not even influenced by it, let alone the manas; even if the mind consciousness stirs slightly, the manas does not stir, because afflictions have been completely eliminated. Arhats do not need the mind consciousness to urge, monitor, or regulate the manas; rather, the manas can regulate the mind consciousness. But ordinary beings whose practice is still on the right track must use the mind consciousness at all times and in all places to supervise, regulate, and restrain the manas, because the manas has not yet been influenced by wholesome conditioning; without such regulation, it will trespass on others' crops, and its inherent nature will be exposed. Therefore, those who always need the mind consciousness to remind themselves are still far from genuine practice; as for those whose mind consciousness is even muddled and unclear, there is simply no question of any practice at all. Only after the manas has been influenced by wholesome conditioning and ignorance has been broken through can the bodily, verbal, and mental actions gradually become pure—automatic and self-aware, requiring no watching over.