From Which Characteristic of the Manas Is It Easier to Find the Manas?

Question: In daily life, one can find and experience the manas. For example, when the skin itches, when one is hungry, thirsty, or hot, or when one very much wants to do something, one knows that in the end it is the manas that makes the final decision. At this time, the mind consciousness deliberately refrains from carrying it out and forcibly delays it. During this period, observe what the manas is doing and what it is thinking. After all, the manas still has the volition of deciding whether or not to carry it out. This is a way of searching for traces of the manas—its source, or place of origin. If this is done over a long period of time, can one thereby find and realize the manas?

Answer: The manas makes decisions in every instant—that is, it acts as the master. The manas decides to scratch the itch, decides to eat, decides to drink water, decides to go out for some fresh air, decides to go do something. As long as something is done, it is because the manas decided and directed it; herein the manas can be found. If the mind consciousness deliberately does not execute the manas's instructions, and one observes the manas's reaction, one can come to know the mental activities and habitual tendencies of the manas. When the mind consciousness does not execute the manas's instructions, there is at the same time also the manas's instruction to temporarily not do something, because the mind consciousness can never be the master in any case; whether to do something or not to do it is always decided by the manas. Even the mind consciousness's unwillingness to obey the manas is likewise decided by the manas.

From this, it can also be seen that the manas sometimes does comply with the mind consciousness's decisions; it is not entirely obstinately self-willed, not completely a one-man dictatorship or a militaristic rule of thought. The manas must act as master and make decisions in every instant and in every event. From this characteristic, one can find traces of the manas and thereby realize it.