The deliberation (manana) of the manas is more ultimate than the thinking of the mind consciousness

Ru Chun: The night before last, before going to sleep, I contemplated: why is it that the sea of suffering is boundless, yet turning one's head is the shore? I contemplated while writing, and the process was quite long. My final conclusion was: in worldly dharmas there is no true bliss; in the end it is all suffering, and all kinds of suffering form the sea of suffering, also called the accumulation of suffering. It is all subject to change, impermanent, and not singular—therefore it is not true dharma. If we cannot see through its falsity and instead greedily cling to and wallow in it, that is the boundless sea of suffering. Conversely, if we rely on the false to cultivate the true, turn our minds toward the Path, and return to the source, that is called turning one's head to reach the shore.

In this process of contemplation, the mind consciousness was mostly in the lead, but I could sense that the manas was also participating. Because the writing flowed smoothly and with focus, there was also inspiration; body and mind were joyful, and I did not feel tired. When I finished writing and checked the time, it was already 2 a.m.—time had passed quickly. After writing, I went to sleep, but I felt as if a thread of mental activity was still suspended, and my sleep became shallow.

During morning meditation, a line surfaced in my mind: "Originally there is no shore to the sea of suffering—why need one turn the head for a shore?" I suppose this must have been the result of the manas continuing its work last night. Could it be understood this way: what the mind consciousness contemplated earlier was conditioned dharmas, and after falling asleep, the manas's contemplation added, on that foundation, a consideration from the angle of unconditioned dharmas. Could this show that when the mind is calm and obstructions are reduced, the manas is wiser than the mind consciousness? Is this kind of contemplation helpful for cultivation? I feel that recently my state during meditation has been unstable. When the state is good, my whole body feels ethereal, as if suspended in empty space; when it is poor, my legs are stiff and painful and lack strength. I have made some adjustments, but I have not yet been able to pinpoint the key issue.

Comment: Contemplating while writing involves an element of concentration, and it includes both the mind consciousness's deliberation and the manas's deliberation (manana). Because writing is relatively slow, it is easy to gather the mind and concentrate, easy for the contemplation to seep into the manas's mind and give the manas an opportunity for deliberation. When the two consciousnesses contemplate together, it is wiser and easier to contemplate thoroughly than the mind consciousness contemplating alone. After writing, the mind consciousness rests, but the manas does not rest; it will continue to deliberate on its own. Without the interference of the six consciousnesses, the manas's deliberation is more focused and effective, and the result is that wisdom arises, contemplating the problem clearly and thoroughly. When the mind consciousness reappears, it apprehends the manas's wise cognition, and the mind consciousness also gives rise to wisdom.

During daytime activities, shallow contemplation is contemplation at the level of the mind consciousness. At night during meditation, one suspends the question in the mind and quietly deliberates on it; after meditation, one falls asleep carrying the question—this is the manas's deep pondering. Upon rising in the morning, the answer to the question is automatically known without deliberate effort; this is the result of the manas's deliberation. Therefore, in investigating (can-chan), it is always the manas investigating alone, or investigating together with the mind consciousness; the result is that when the manas eliminates the self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) and awakens to the true mind and sees its nature, the mind consciousness immediately knows that content and also gains the same wisdom. All true wisdom and ultimate wisdom are certainly obtained through the manas's deliberation; the mind consciousness's wisdom is obtained simultaneously or afterward. Therefore, the claim that the mind consciousness realizes the fruits is nonsense.