It is the manas that silently holds the question in mind and deliberates upon it.

Ru Chun: A few days ago, Master mentioned in the group: Sun Wukong could not leap out of the Buddha's palm. I kept wondering why it is so, and after thinking for several days without coming up with a satisfying answer, I just let it go and stopped thinking about it. But yesterday my family said that I only eat vegetarian food, taking the part for the whole—just like Sun Wukong who only saw the pillars but did not see the Buddha's palm. Upon hearing this, my heart was shaken—isn't this exactly the answer I was looking for? Only seeing the pillars but not the Buddha's palm (tathāgatagarbha). An answer arrived at by association is not necessarily correct. What I want to confirm is: is this kind of carrying a question while searching for the answer the work of the manas? Because at the time I could not think of the answer, and although there was a trace of reluctance in my heart, I could only helplessly let it go. When I heard my family member's words, I suddenly felt I understood, with a feeling of having scratched the right itch.

Assessment: You did not make clear what answer you wanted. When the mind silently carries a question and ponders it, the mind consciousness (yourself) does not necessarily know it; it is the manas that holds the question in mind. When inspiration arises, the manas works out the answer, and the mind consciousness then understands the answer that the manas has investigated. But what the manas works out is not necessarily correct; there may be misunderstandings and gaps. Because the wisdom of the manas varies infinitely—even after enlightenment it is not perfect, let alone at the stage of an ordinary being still in ignorance.

Ru Chun: Yes, Master, the mind consciousness did not know that I was still thinking. My manas's wisdom is very low; I only thought of this: the Buddha's palm alludes to the tathāgatagarbha, and the pillars that Sun Wukong saw allude to the world that our fleshy eyes perceive. At the time, thinking this far, I felt quite content, not knowing whether it was right or wrong.