The manas does not merely discern significant and changing mental sense-objects — Clarifying misunderstandings about the manas (Part 3)

Over the years I have met many people who repeatedly recite the claim: "The manas only attends to significant and changing mental sense-objects (dharma-viṣaya)." Every time I hear this, my head aches and I feel especially helpless. Sometimes I correct people several times, yet their views still cannot change—the poisoning is too deep. In fact, whether this claim is right or wrong is very easy to determine. The insignificant and unchanging sense-objects that each of us discerns—if the manas cannot discern them and they can only be discerned by the mind consciousness alone—then when the mind consciousness ceases and does not manifest, if the manas does not discern those minute, unchanging sense-objects, how do we know about them and respond to them in time? For example, after falling asleep, the air conditioner's wind blows unchangingly, making the body feel cold, and we automatically burrow into the blanket or curl up. When a mosquito buzzes, sleep becomes restless and the body automatically dodges. When there is a faint, distinctive odor in the air, we cough and wake up automatically. How are all these accomplished?

In fact, whether or not the mind consciousness discerns them, the vast majority of the sense-objects we contact are minute, and most are unchanging. If the manas cannot discern any of these sense-objects, then whichever sense-object the manas does not discern, we do not know that sense-object—even harm to body and mind would go unnoticed. How does the mind consciousness discern? The mind consciousness can only arise when the manas contacts the mental sense-objects. If the manas cannot attend to these sense-objects and cannot discern them, the mind consciousness cannot discern them either. The mind consciousness is born with a mission; if the manas does not need the mind consciousness to handle problems, there is no need for the mind consciousness to arise at all.

That the manas universally attends to all dharmas is what the Buddha said. If our power of contemplation and observation is strong, even if the Buddha had not said it, we should still understand this principle. Because the six consciousnesses arise and cease from moment to moment, not arising of their own accord—they are born only because the manas needs them, and on which dharma they arise is decided by the manas. Of all the dharmas produced by the tathāgatagarbha, if the manas does not attend to them and does not discern them, the six consciousnesses will not arise to discern them either—then what meaning would there be in the tathāgatagarbha producing those dharmas? If the manas does not discern minute, subtle, and unchanging dharmas, the six consciousnesses cannot discern them either. If these dharmas affect the five aggregates, whether beneficially or harmfully, we could not handle them and could not respond.

The manas grasps and regulates all dharmas, whether significant or subtle, whether changing or unchanging; only in this way can the completeness of the functions of the five aggregates be guaranteed. These dharmas include dharmas outside the body and dharmas within the body. Dharmas within the body include breathing, pulse, heartbeat, and all the activities of life; the slightest mishap and the manas will sound the alarm, letting the six consciousnesses handle it. If the manas did not discern, how could He sound the alarm? Dharmas within the body are generally minute and subtle, constantly operating and unchanging, beyond the attention of the mind consciousness; but the manas must attend to and discern them moment by moment in order to guarantee the normal operation of the five aggregates—this is also one reason the manas grasps the body. If the dharmas within the body were always significant and changing, the five aggregates would be restless and agitated, both body and mind would be damaged, and healthy, normal existence would be impossible.
There are also many dharmas outside the body, the vast majority of which are likewise minute, subtle, and unchanging, and the manas discerns them all ceaselessly, moment by moment. There is no dharma that the manas does not attend to and does not discern; those with obvious effects on body and mind will alert the six consciousnesses to know and handle them. For example, when a gentle breeze blows for a long time, the manas discerns it ceaselessly, moment by moment, and the mind consciousness can also discern it accordingly, but sometimes this is interrupted and one forgets that a breeze is stirring—yet the manas still discerns it. For example, the sound of a mosquito: the manas discerns it ceaselessly, moment by moment, and the mind consciousness can also discern it accordingly, but it will forget and drop away, whereas the manas does not drop away—because it knows there is a mosquito, it remains alert and refuses to sleep, or sleeps restlessly. There are too many such minute, unchanging dharmas outside the body to enumerate, but the manas discerns them all, whereas the mind consciousness discerns selectively and frequently drops away.

Observing these dharmas is not really difficult as long as one is attentive; even if one cannot observe them directly (pratyakṣa), they are not hard to understand. Why is there such a great misunderstanding about the manas? The reason is that the dharma teachers are blindly self-confident and irresponsible toward sentient beings and toward Buddhism; unable to observe directly, they show off and insist on making claims to attract attention, while their followers, ignorant and mindless, follow blindly.

The level of wisdom of a dharma teacher can be judged from the dharma he teaches. If he cannot observe the profound dharma of Consciousness-Only directly, and his teachings are riddled with errors and omissions, then his mind consciousness lacks the wisdom of wonderful observation (pratyavekṣaṇā-jñāna), and the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have not achieved the transformation of consciousness into wisdom (āśraya-parāvṛtti)—let alone being a bodhisattva of several bhūmis, he has not even reached the first bhūmi or the stage of the ten dedications (daśa-pariṇāmanā). If he has many misunderstandings about the dharma of prajñā and his wisdom is shallow, then—never mind the final barrier (mokṣa-barrier) or the great barrier—he has not even passed the first barrier. If in teaching the dharma and in his conduct he everywhere reveals afflictions and has a deeply entrenched view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), then he has not even eradicated the view of self. Most sentient beings have studied Buddhism for only a short time and have poor discernment, unintentionally encouraging the ambitions of certain people, who have no awareness or restraint of the afflictions in their own minds, so that the more they teach, the more wrong they become.

Protecting the Dharma and protecting Buddhism is the fundamental duty of every bodhisattva. When encountering dharmas with major errors and omissions that mislead sentient beings and obstruct the normal development of Buddhism, one must come forward to correct and stop them; to watch and do nothing is dereliction of duty, and a betrayal of the teachings of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Where there are serious misunderstandings about the Consciousness-Only dharma of the manas, one must continually clarify the misunderstandings and continually correct the deviations, and must not allow the errors and omissions to continue spreading and ruin the future of Buddhism.