Evidence That the Manas Is Not Upekkhā (Part 1)

All seven consciousnesses experience feelings (vedanā) in relation to their respective objects. The first five consciousnesses also experience feelings regarding the five sense objects (rūpa, sound, smell, taste, and touch). These feelings are often non-emotional, relatively simple sensations—merely receiving and perceiving the objects of form, sound, smell, taste, and touch. The feelings of the sixth consciousness (mano-vijñāna) initially involve simple reception and apprehension; however, after cognition, they become emotionally charged. Emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure manifest, resulting in highly numerous and complex mental activities.

The seventh consciousness, the manas (mind-root), also experiences feelings. The contents discerned by the six consciousnesses are all transmitted to the manas, which receives the detailed information from them and consequently has its own feelings. The manas also relies on the eighth consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna) to perceive the reflections of all dharmas (phenomena) that the eighth consciousness apprehends. It can cognize all dharmas, thus experiencing various feelings unknown to the sixth consciousness. For instance, based on the eighth consciousness, if it cognizes that oneself or a loved one is about to have an accident, the manas will feel anxious, fearful, worried, apprehensive, terrified, and unsettled, manifesting various painful feelings. This prompts the six consciousnesses to engage in bewildering actions contrary to reason, and the sixth consciousness consequently displays emotions like terror and unease without understanding why. If the manas cognizes that a joyful event is imminent, it experiences pleasant feelings like delight and happiness internally. The sixth consciousness then feels inexplicably happy, manifesting pleasant feelings.

The feelings arising in the manas based on the circumstances discerned by the six consciousnesses can be illustrated as follows: if one experiences an event during the day, and the mind quiets down at night, the sixth consciousness carefully recalls and analyzes it, realizing the situation was not as it appeared superficially. As the sixth consciousness dwells on it, it grows increasingly angry. When the manas becomes aware of this, it also becomes angry, leading to physical discomfort like an uneasy heart, a progressively worse complexion, or prompting new decisions.

Some claim that the feelings of the manas are solely neutral feelings (upekṣā-vedanā), devoid of painful or pleasant feelings. However, if the manas had only neutral feelings without painful or pleasant ones, it should be like the eighth consciousness—able to tolerate all dharmas, neither interested in nor avoiding and rejecting any phenomenon. It would not drive the body and mind to produce emotional behaviors like joy, sorrow, anger, or pleasure, nor would excessive actions or emotions arise. It should maintain a state where body and mind are plain, calm, tranquil, and steady.

Observation reveals that the manas is not like this. Especially in individuals who have not subdued their afflictions (kleśa) and lack cultivation, emotionality is severe. Often, even the sixth consciousness does not understand why this is so. Those who are melancholic like Lin Daiyu or as wrathful as an asura are the result of the manas being unable to endure its painful feelings. The habitual tendencies (vāsanā) of the manas are too strong; the sixth consciousness finds it difficult to control the arising of these emotions. This demonstrates that the manas does not experience only neutral feelings. Due to painful feelings, the manas gives rise to corresponding afflictions; due to pleasant feelings, it also gives rise to corresponding afflictions.