The Desire of the Manas, the Governing Consciousness, Plays a Decisive Role

If the manas has already severed the desire for food and drink, then even if the mind consciousness pays extra attention to and takes a few more glances at delicious food in the desire realm, the manas will not give rise to greed, nor will it crave delicious food; it merely goes along with conditions. If the manas has already severed sexual desire, then even if the mind consciousness takes a few more glances at the opposite sex, there will be no subsequent mental activity, because when the manas does not cling or crave, the mind consciousness cannot have surplus thoughts and desires. If the manas has already severed greed, and does not crave anything regarding food, clothing, dwelling, or daily use, then even if the mind consciousness is situated in a luxurious and extravagant living environment, it will not give rise to greed; yet its food, clothing, dwelling, and daily use will still follow previous habitual tendencies—this is the habit of the manas. The bodily, verbal, and mental actions concerning food, clothing, dwelling, and daily use are decided by the manas, and must conform to the manas' habitual tendencies.

The desire to become a Buddha is a superior desire; the desire to see one's true mind and realize one's nature is a superior desire; the desire to eliminate self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) and attain the fruits of liberation is a superior desire. If only the mind consciousness has such a superior desire but the manas does not, then the manas will not take charge and diligently cultivate, will not actively practice the three uncontaminated trainings, will not actively uphold precepts, will not actively cultivate meditation, will not actively read sūtras and contemplate, still less will it set its mind on contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and investigating the meaning of the Dharma; likewise it will not, from morning to night, keep every thought on cultivation. Only when the manas has a superior desire can it actively impel the six consciousnesses to cultivate, keeping the mind consciousness's every thought on studying Buddhism and practicing, and enabling the mind consciousness to find ways to remove all interference and obstacles and cultivate diligently.

After studying Buddhism, the mind consciousness has subdued its craving for meat, knowing that eating meat creates unwholesome karmic connections with sentient beings and brings unwholesome retribution; but the manas has not subdued its craving for meat. When encountering meat, the mind consciousness knows it should not be eaten, yet the manas somewhat wants to eat it. The mind consciousness then exhorts the manas, saying: one must not eat meat, one should eat vegetarian food, and the manas temporarily endures. But after a while, when the mind consciousness is not exhorting it and attention lapses, the manas decides to take a bite to satisfy the craving, and so a bite of meat is eaten; the mind consciousness goes along with the manas and relaxes its vigilance, and the manas decides to take another bite; if the mind consciousness does not condemn the manas, the manas will indulge itself and keep eating, until finally the mind consciousness can no longer control the manas and simply resigns itself: might as well eat, since I have already eaten. Failure to quit smoking follows the same principle; failure to quit gambling or drugs is likewise the same principle—the mind consciousness truly cannot govern the manas. The manas' afflictive habitual tendencies far exceed the mind consciousness's rationality, and so the mind consciousness has no choice but to follow the manas.

Therefore, if only the mind consciousness cultivates and the mind consciousness eliminates afflictions while the manas does not eliminate afflictions, that is not true elimination of afflictions; if the mind consciousness eliminates self-view while the manas does not eliminate self-view, that is also not true elimination of self-view; if the mind consciousness understands the principles while the manas does not understand them, that is not true understanding. No one can walk on a single leg; the mind consciousness and the manas, these two legs, must move in step, or one closely following the other, in order to walk the path well. For people whose minds incline toward the wholesome, almost everyone has had the experience of the mind consciousness guiding and exhorting the manas, because the manas does not understand principles and does not know good from bad, so the mind consciousness must be troubled to do extra work, repeatedly exhorting the manas toward the wholesome, and only then can bodily, verbal, and mental actions be wholesome. The manas has the capacity to take charge and the power of decision; this one point alone demonstrates the manas' powerful functioning. Judging from various examples, if the manas has no aspiration and no desire, then no dharma can be established—all will vanish, and one must abide in nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa).