The Problem of Memory

Question: I just met a person, chatted for a while, and we exchanged contact information. Is this matter remembered in the mind consciousness, or remembered in the manas, or remembered by both? What are the differences and distinctions?

Answer: Any person, event, object, or principle that has been experienced first lands in the mind consciousness, which may or may not be able to remember it. After the mind consciousness has remembered it, it may be recorded in the manas, letting the manas also remember it, or it may not be recorded in the manas, and the manas cannot remember it. One possibility is that the manas is not interested; another possibility is that the time was too short, and the manas had no time to discern and remember it, so the impression was not deep.

There is also a special situation: the mind consciousness did not pay attention and did not remember it, yet the manas had encountered it before and was quite familiar with it, so without the mind consciousness deliberately remembering, the manas remembered it by itself. Later on, even though the mind consciousness does not think about this matter, it can spontaneously and automatically recall it, and one feels puzzled oneself, asking oneself: Why do I keep thinking about this matter? This is the result of the manas's mindful recollection.

If a matter exists only in the mind consciousness, with no impression in the manas, then it can no longer be recalled. Because whether or not to recall is decided by the manas as the master; it is the manas that needs to recall in order to deal with this matter, and only then does the mind consciousness arise and recall it.

Suppose it exists only in the mind consciousness—then how could the mind consciousness recall it? Does the mind consciousness arise by itself? Does it exist at every moment, instant after instant, upon all dharmas? Clearly not. Once this matter has passed, the mind consciousness disappears with respect to this matter. Afterward, how could it recall?

If the manas does not let the mind consciousness think, can the mind consciousness arise and then think? If the manas does not let the mind consciousness recall, can the mind consciousness arise and then recall? Neither is possible. The mind consciousness has no autonomy and cannot exist freely and continuously on its own. The premise for the mind consciousness's existence is the manas's continual contact with sense objects. The mind consciousness cannot autonomously decide how to actively arise, and then actively recall? It cannot become the master consciousness to replace the manas.

If one can recognize the true principle that the mind consciousness exists to serve the manas, and clarify the active and passive relationship between the manas and the mind consciousness, then all dharmas become easy to handle and resolve, especially the problems of Consciousness-Only.