All Dharmas Must Be Reviewed and Approved by the Manas

The character "审" (examine) in the manas's constant, attentive deliberation reveals the psychological activity of the manas, and also reveals the functions that the manas performs. This shows that the manas is not a useless appendage or mere ornament; it plays a crucially decisive role and is a living, active conscious mind.

Whatever dharma the manas contacts, it must examine it. Whatever dharmas the six consciousnesses discern, the manas must examine them. If the examination passes, the manas makes a decision and proceeds to handle the matter. So what role does the manas play in investigating Chan? What role does it play in eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa)? What role does it play in seeing the mind and seeing one's nature? What role does it play in realizing all dharmas? In all of these, it plays the decisive role.

All dharmas must pass through the manas's gatekeeping. If the manas has not approved the examination, no handling can take place. From this we can see the manas's leading position and its role as the master. When the manas examines, it has its own conscious mental activity; it must deliberate on its own, rather than simply obeying the six consciousnesses and instantly approving whatever they discern. Therefore, everything the six consciousnesses perceive must be clearly and distinctly understood by the manas. If the manas does not understand it, the examination fails, it cannot pass the gate, and the manas cannot make a decision. Both eradicating the view of self and seeing the mind and seeing one's nature must pass through the manas's examination and review. If the manas does not agree, the view of self cannot be eradicated, and seeing the mind and seeing one's nature cannot occur. When the mind consciousness eradicates the view of self or sees the mind on its own, that is merely the mind consciousness's own understanding and belief; if the master and leader does not approve, it does not count. There is no such thing as the mind consciousness, without the leader's consent, presumptuously deciding on its own that it has eradicated the view of self or seen the mind.

How can we let the manas arrive at the result and answer by itself? The mind consciousness should analyze and think less, and let the manas deliberate and ponder more by itself—this is the most effective way. Once the mind consciousness knows the answer, it no longer wants to continue investigating, and the manas then has no opportunity to investigate, so enlightenment can never be realized. Therefore, if the answer to seeing the mind is casually inquired about or casually told to someone, once the mind consciousness knows it, the manas can no longer apply effort, and realization becomes impossible. The same applies to eradicating the view of self: one cannot demand that the master explain things in too much detail. If the mind consciousness already knows everything, the manas can no longer ponder it, and eradicating the view of self becomes very difficult.

The "思" (deliberation) in the manas's constant, attentive deliberation means to deliberate, ponder, and discriminate; "量" (measure) means to measure, gauge, evaluate, and weigh. The psychological activity of the manas's examining, deliberating, and measuring is extremely profound and subtle, difficult to discover and observe. Yet its conscious mental activity is still very powerful, carrying the aura of a king, occupying the dominant and irreplaceable position in making choices regarding all dharmas.