The mind consciousness should effectively perfume and transform the manas

Many people, when facing situations and conditions, involuntarily display emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, and only notice it afterward; they then say that joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness were arranged long ago and are beyond their control. In fact, these are all the afflictive habits of the manas, the manas' natural reactions, manifested through the six consciousnesses. After the emotions have manifested, the mind consciousness awakens and becomes clear, and only then does it discover that joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness just arose in itself. When the mind consciousness discovers this, it feels as though these were not something it could control, and only out of necessity does it say that these emotions were arranged long ago and are involuntary. If the mind consciousness has a higher degree of awareness, better meditative concentration (samādhi), and stronger observational power, it can observe some of the manas' emotions and mental states, and can even slightly control the emotions. Especially in ordinary times, one should engage in much self-education, thereby immersing and conditioning the manas, changing some of the manas' afflictive habits that should not exist.

Some people's mind consciousness has thoughts and emotions that are also not upright, lacking the ability to educate themselves and carry out effective psychological construction, so they make the excuse that no matter how the mind consciousness struggles, it cannot struggle out of the habitual circle of the manas. If the mind consciousness, no matter how it struggles, cannot escape the manas' habitual circle, what use would cultivation be? Cultivation is precisely about using the mind consciousness to change the manas. When the mind consciousness struggles diligently enough, the manas will have no choice but to comply with the mind consciousness, and cultivation will then be on the right track.

Because of the manas' various mental activities, thoughts, and emotions, all kinds of bodily, verbal, and mental actions are brought forth. If one wishes to have pure and wholesome bodily, verbal, and mental actions, one must give full play to the mind consciousness's dynamic initiative and guiding role, actively guiding the manas toward the wholesome, creating pure bodily, verbal, and mental actions as well as bodily, verbal, and mental actions endowed with merit. If the manas' habitual tendencies are too heavy, the mind consciousness, though knowing what is evil, cannot change it—just like a drug addiction flare-up: although one knows the poison harms oneself, one still takes the drug. When sentient beings' afflictions are heavy, although they know these are afflictions, although they know afflictions have faults and dangers, the afflictions still do not cease. This is the state of beginners at the most foundational stage; the path of cultivation is still very long.