The Connotation of the Constant Deliberation of Manas

The manas has the nature of constant deliberation (恒审思量). "Constant" refers to permanence and everlastingness; the nature of deliberative examination always accompanies the manas. As long as the manas exists, it must deliberate and examine all dharmas. Since beginningless kalpas, the manas of sentient beings has never ceased to exist. Only when one cultivates to the fourth fruit of the Small Vehicle, the arhat, and the pratyekabuddha stage, does one have the ability to extinguish it. Apart from that, for other sentient beings, the manas will not cease in future lives up to the stage of Buddhahood, nor even after Buddhahood. Thus the manas will exist forever and impel the eighth consciousness to continuously manifest all dharmas in the world. This unceasing nature of the manas is called "constant." Its deliberative nature also operates moment by moment, accompanying the manas in its current functioning, never stopping. This is the constant nature of the manas.

"Examine" (审) means to deliberate, investigate, assess, and judge. "Examine" also represents the nature of doubt—wanting to ascertain a certain situation, wanting to understand a certain principle. Because one cannot know for certain and has doubt in the mind, one needs to deliberate and assess, to judge whether a dharma is actually so, whether it is true, correct, and factual, whether it is a certain situation. This mental activity is called "examine." In mundane dharmas, annual review, investigation, assessment, interrogation, and questioning all carry this meaning of "examine." The manas has the nature of examining. Without examining, He would be unable to make choices and decisions. He is often only after investigating, deliberating, and assessing, and once the mind is clear, that He can finally make a decision.

"Deliberation" (思量) means that the manas must weigh, choose, decide, consider, investigate, measure, calculate, and discriminate all dharmas—weighing what the content and meaning of a dharma is, what it actually is, whether it is beneficial to oneself, what should be done to be correct, how to fulfill one's wishes and achieve one's goals. Only then can He make a choice and decision. Therefore, the manas has the nature of deliberation. Only after deliberating can the manas make a decision based on the result of His deliberation—whether to take or reject. Then He can lead the six consciousnesses to adopt corresponding bodily, verbal, and mental actions to achieve the goal. The eighth consciousness then has no choice but to revolve around the manas's deliberative decisions, complying and cooperating in giving rise to all dharmas.