Why Does the Manas Need to Use the Six Consciousnesses?

The six consciousnesses have a great obstructive effect; using the six consciousnesses causes the manas to become distracted and unable to concentrate, obstructing the arising of meditative concentration (samādhi) and the power of wisdom (prajñā-bala). Only when the manas has no alternative will it employ the six consciousnesses to serve itself; when the manas itself has the ability to act personally, it does not use the six consciousnesses. Once the six consciousnesses are used, the manas becomes useless, and its abilities cannot be exercised or displayed. Yet in essence and ultimately, all dharmas are what the manas itself needs; it is best to let the manas exercise its functions by itself, relying on the six consciousnesses as little as possible. But ordinary people without meditative concentration cannot do this; only upon reaching the stage of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva can one completely dispense with the six consciousnesses and be able to substitute for their functions. When the manas substitutes for the six consciousnesses, this is called the interfunctioning of the six faculties.

Ru Chun: There are several points in the above passage that I do not understand. 1. The six consciousnesses and the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) have an obstructive effect on the manas, so why would the manas want to give rise to them? 2. What situation does "having no alternative" refer to?

Reply: Because the manas alone cannot accomplish things, in most cases it must rely on the six consciousnesses to discern the six sense objects (ṣaḍ-āyatana), and uses the mind consciousness to assist itself in deliberating, analyzing, and making decisions. But when the activity of the six consciousnesses becomes great, the manas has no choice but to deal with numerous sense objects and worldly affairs; the mind cannot settle down, and wisdom cannot arise. It is a matter of having no alternative because—who would want their own affairs to be done by others in their place? Only because its own energy and abilities are limited does the manas have to find helpers, but after all, no matter who does it, it is not as good as doing it oneself. Once the six consciousnesses are used, all matters become complicated and scattered, and samādhi is hard to attain. People whose minds are too restless find it hard to cultivate samādhi; people with rich imaginations find it hard to cultivate samādhi; people who pay attention to many things find it hard to cultivate samādhi; people who like to deliberate, and who deliberate much, find it hard to cultivate samādhi. In short, those unwilling to withdraw their mind from sense objects find it hard to cultivate samādhi.

Lantian: When the manas has heavy ignorance and afflictions, it is difficult for it to judge and handle external matters based on the perceiving-aspect of the eighth consciousness and the inner representations of the brain's supreme faculty (rūpa-prasāda); therefore the manas must give rise to the first six consciousnesses to help analyze and process them. But after the six consciousnesses are produced, because the information they receive is broad and mixed, this greatly increases the manas's tendency to chase after external objects, further disturbing the manas's concentration and impairing its capacity for thought and judgment. Thus the manas has no choice but to rely on the judgments of the six consciousnesses to make decisions, and so the manas's function is weakened. Therefore, only by increasing meditative concentration, subduing afflictions, and reducing external feeling can the manas's function be strengthened.

Ru Chun: Because of a single thought of ignorance, the manas does not know that it is illusory, and always wants a platform on which to display itself; so it gives rise to the body of the five aggregates as a prop, feeling that this is "I." After having the body of the five aggregates, it then wants to grasp and discern more dharmas in order to strengthen the self, and so it gives rise to the six consciousnesses to expand its ranks. The six consciousnesses are very obedient to Him, chasing after and grasping more dharmas to provide to the manas. The manas therefore becomes even busier—on one hand it must be mindful of the dharmas given forth by the eighth consciousness, and on the other hand it must process the dharmas discerned by the six consciousnesses—so its energy is even more dispersed. In general, because the manas is too greedy, it ends up doing something that digs its own pit and falls into it itself.