The Driving Function of the Manas and the Mental Factor of Desire

Desire (chanda) refers to aspiration, intention, longing, and seeking. For example, in longing for the land of bliss (Sukhāvatī), if only the mind consciousness longs for it while the manas does not, recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) will be useless and one cannot reach the land of bliss. There must be the manas's longing and desire at the same time in order to be reborn in the land of bliss; the manas's longing and desire is called deep faith and earnest vow.

If the manas has no ideas or aspirations, no endeavor can be accomplished. If the manas no longer seeks the worldly dharmas of the three realms, then at the end of life it enters nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa). For an arhat, it is precisely because the manas no longer seeks any worldly dharma—having severed desire and craving for all dharmas of the world—that at the time of death none of the worldly dharmas arise anymore; thus the manas ceases, and there is no longer life or world. Only when the manas wants to attain realization and longs for seeing one's true mind and awakening to the true mind (seeing one's own nature) can it choose to diligently cultivate the Buddha-dharma and continually fulfill the thirty-seven factors of the path. If the manas has no such idea, seeking, or aspiration, it will not apply diligent effort; the ideas of the mind consciousness have no decisive effect—only when they have permeated the manas do they work. If the manas does not want to study Buddhism, the mind consciousness cannot contemplate the Buddha-dharma; instead it will follow the manas in chasing after worldly dharmas and engaging in worldly affairs.

To want is to seek, to desire. If the manas has no desire, it makes no choice, does not incline toward anything, takes no action, and the corresponding dharmas do not arise. When the mind consciousness wants to cultivate and be diligent, if it has not brought the manas along, it is merely an idea; true diligence is impossible, and actual practice cannot occur—actual practice is determined and carried out by the manas.

The basis of miraculous freedom of desire (chanda-ṛddhi-pāda) means the mind has the power to realize its own desires, to attain what it wishes, and to fulfill what it seeks—this refers to the desire of the manas. The basis of miraculous freedom of desire is chiefly the meditative concentration (samādhi) of the manas, the wish-fulfillment of the manas: through the cultivation by the mind consciousness, the manas is given the power to reach its goal and its desires are fulfilled. When cultivating meditative concentration, the mind that wants to fly and transform also refers to the manas; thus the tathāgatagarbha cooperates with the manas's mental factor of deliberation (manaskāra) to fulfill the manas's needs and desires, enabling the physical body to fly and transform. Although the desire of the mind consciousness is present at the same time, the mind consciousness's desire serves to bring along and guide the manas, so that the manas also has the same desire; in the end it is still the manas's desire that plays the decisive role. Behind the desire is the cooperation of the tathāgatagarbha, which fulfills the manas's wish.

The basis of miraculous freedom of desire is chiefly the desire of the manas—the manas gets its wish and its desire is fulfilled. When the manas has power and wants to achieve a certain goal, the tathāgatagarbha has no choice but to fulfill the manas; if the manas has no power, the tathāgatagarbha has no way to cooperate. Here it still relies on the mind consciousness's contemplation and leading, working together with the manas to achieve the goal. The manas makes use of the six consciousnesses and the eighth consciousness to realize all that it seeks and wishes. The power of the manas is the power of meditative concentration, the power of choice, and the power of mastery.