The Mind Faculty and Consciousness

Chapter 8: Current Manifestations Perfuming Seeds, Seeds Perfuming Current Manifestations

1. The manas has never ceased since beginningless kalpas; the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion along with habitual tendencies from beginningless kalpas have been carried to the present and will be carried into future lives. He can dominate our bodily, verbal, and mental actions, causing greed, anger, and delusion afflictions to manifest in body, speech, and mind. And all of our present bodily, verbal, and mental actions also perfume the manas, increasing the manas's nature of greed, anger, and delusion, making future afflictions even heavier—this is current manifestations perfuming seeds. Therefore, we should be careful with our present bodily, verbal, and mental actions, learn to introspect on our own mind, no longer allow unwholesome dharmas to perfume the manas, and instead use wholesome dharmas to perfume and transform the manas—this is true cultivation.

Perfuming: first the mind consciousness receives the perfuming, then goes on to perfume the manas and transform it—this is current manifestations perfuming seeds. The other is the manas perfuming the mind consciousness, causing bodily, verbal, and mental actions to manifest according to the manas's habitual inertia—this is seeds perfuming current manifestations; both worldly dharmas and supramundane dharmas work this way. We can make use of this by perfuming and cultivating the Buddha-dharma more, so that the tathāgatagarbha stores wholesome karma seeds, and what manifests in the future will all be wholesome dharmas; only then can the Buddha path be perfected in the future.

Perfuming is also called influence, a kind of subtle, imperceptible power. For example, when a husband and wife live together in close contact for a long time, each one's tathāgatagarbha constantly takes in the other's images, which land in the mind consciousness; the mind consciousness is thus perfumed and becomes similar to the other's image. At first it cannot be noticed, but over time the two people's appearances become similar. Because appearances are manifested by the mind, when the mind is perfumed and changed, the appearance also changes. Their ways of verbal expression gradually become alike, their eating habits become the same, and even their behavior and mannerisms may become similar. All of this is perfumed and changed without one's awareness—this is postnatal perfuming.

So, in order to make our appearance dignified, we can frequently contemplate images of the Buddha; the tathāgatagarbha constantly takes in the Buddha's image in the mind, the mind will gradually be influenced, and the appearance becomes dignified. Appearance arises from the mind; when the mind changes, the appearance changes. If we always associate with virtuous people of the Path, our speech and conduct will follow and learn from them, and our virtue will improve. Mencius's mother chose her neighbors in order to let Mencius be perfumed by wholesome dharmas and not by unwholesome ones. When we perfume ourselves with Mahāyāna Buddhism, although the principles are very profound, the dharma seeds have already fallen into the mind and will sooner or later blossom and bear fruit, yielding a rich harvest—this is the principle of current manifestations perfuming seeds.

2. When sentient beings do each thing, encountering conditions and objects, the mind consciousness goes through rational deliberation and rationally feels that doing it this way should be reasonable. But the manas insists on acting according to its own ingrained habits; the mind consciousness cannot persuade or control the manas, and as a result the manas goes ahead and does it anyway. Afterward comes regret—and this regret belongs to the mind consciousness. The mind consciousness then analyzes: doing it that way just now, what consequences would there be, what gains and losses, what bad influences would arise. The manas can discern the content of this analysis, then gives rise to the mental factor of volition (cetanā), deliberating (manasikāra) on what benefits and harms this matter has for oneself; after deliberation, it may agree with the mind consciousness's opinions and views and then correct itself, or it may disagree and stubbornly cling to its own views.

When agreeing with the mind consciousness's analysis and judgment, the manas feels in its mind that doing it that way was wrong, that it was a bit impulsive just now, and that it would have been better to calm down before taking action—at this point regret arises, but it is too late for regret. This regret is first the mind consciousness's regret, then the manas's regret. If the manas does not regret, then the mind consciousness's regret is in vain, and the same mistake will be made again in the future. If the manas does not agree with the mind consciousness's analysis and judgment, this person's mind will on one hand (the mind consciousness) feel something is not quite right, while on the other hand (the manas) not care, finding all kinds of reasons and excuses to defend itself. Of course, the one specifically finding reasons and defending is the mind consciousness, but it does so under the manas's direction.

When the mind consciousness does each thing, although it is influenced and directed by the manas, it is also influenced by the postnatal environment; after being influenced by the postnatal environment, it wants to change its own mental conduct—which is actually changing the manas's mental conduct. If the manas is unwilling to heed the mind consciousness's opinions and views and is not influenced by the mind consciousness, then it will not change its ingrained habits, and in doing things it will proceed as before, with no change in mental conduct. If the manas's own convictions are too strong and its habits too heavy, so that the mind consciousness cannot play much of a role and everything is the manas's willful behavior, then this person lacks rationality, and the mind consciousness's contemplative wisdom and discerning wisdom cannot function. This person will often act impulsively, unable to control himself, regretting only afterward—but the great mistake has already been made, and it is too late for regret.

3. All matters, great and small, of the five-aggregate body are decided by the manas; the mind consciousness's thoughts and views are only a reference, which the manas may or may not follow. Only through gradual perfuming and guidance by the mind consciousness can the manas's ingrained habits be changed. Our study of Buddhism likewise perfumes the manas in this way. Through contact with principles of Buddhist practice, the mind consciousness feels that it should subdue its own afflictions and not always let the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion manifest. But regarding the profound principles of subduing afflictions, the manas does not yet understand them, and perhaps does not even know it has afflictions, and will still drive the mind consciousness to manifest the afflictions. When the mind consciousness introspects and sees that giving rise to afflictions has many faults, it resolves that henceforth, whatever it encounters, it will never again lose its temper or give rise to anger, because doing so burns down the forest of merit and also creates karmic formations. Yet every time it encounters people and things that displease it, the mind consciousness still loses its temper as before, utterly unable to control itself.

This is because the manas's karmic power is great, and it is also the mind that decides; when He has an affliction and is determined to lose His temper, the mind consciousness has no way to hold back from anger, even though it regrets it afterward. When regretting, it thinks, "Next time I must never do this again," but the next time it erupts just the same, and until the end of life the angry mind is never controlled. This is because the manas has not been effectively subdued, so it drives the mind consciousness to lose its temper and give rise to anger upon encountering conditions; the mind consciousness also has not engaged in patient, meticulous deliberation and has not perfumed the manas, so the manas does not understand the principles, and its mental conduct follows afflictions and habitual tendencies—this is karmic power. Karmic power is the power of karma seeds, and it is also the power of the manas; when the manas changes, the karma seeds change, and the karmic power changes.

Another example: after studying Buddhism, the mind consciousness knows that the five-aggregate self is subject to arising, ceasing, and change, and is not real, and that the six sense objects are illusory; the mind keeps saying: everything is false, why cling? At the same time it tells others that everything is false and one should no longer cling. But although the mouth says so and shouts about letting go, when it comes to actually doing things, nothing is false anymore, and nothing can be let go of—everything is held onto; there is truly no way. Because in doing anything it is the manas that decides; if the manas does not know that the five aggregates are illusory, then it is useless. Moreover, the mind consciousness itself has not truly understood how its own five-aggregate body is illusory, has not engaged in deep and detailed deliberation, and is itself muddled, so it has no evidence to present to the manas; the manas is thus not perfumed, does not understand the principle of illusoriness, and will continue to take the false as real, and will continue to decide and act according to its former karmic inertia.

The manas only accepts facts and direct perception; only with sound reasoning and evidence can He understand principles, change karmic power, and reverse inertia. How bodily, verbal, and mental actions manifest is decided by the manas; the manas wants to grasp all dharmas, and the mind consciousness cannot control this. The mind consciousness also has not frequently perfumed itself with various principles and has not engaged in deep, detailed deliberation, so the manas has not been perfumed; therefore the manas will not change and will still follow karmic power to manifest bodily, verbal, and mental karma.

If we who study Buddhism want to change the manas's afflictive habits, we should treat the manas like a child and constantly provide patient, meticulous instruction. Tell the manas: if this matter is done this way, what retribution will be obtained; if done that way, what retribution will be obtained, and why different retributions are obtained. If this matter is done this way, what the benefits are; if done that way, what the drawbacks are. At a certain point, the manas finally understands and will say: Oh! So that's how it is! From now on I must do such-and-such and never do it that way again. Thereafter, upon encountering the same kind of situation, the manas's mental conduct changes, and the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses also change. When others see this, they will say: this person is different from before, as if he were a different person.

Anyone who truly understands the principles will act according to correct principles; although for a short time he may not be able to fully do so, he already has the determination to change himself, which is worthy of joy and congratulation. Therefore, if we want to study the Buddha-dharma well, the mind consciousness must constantly deliberate in accordance with principle on the correct Buddha-dharma—for example, deliberating on how the five aggregates and eighteen realms are illusory and selfless; the more detailed, the deeper, and the more patient the contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), the better. In this way the manas can more easily be successfully taught. This child will henceforth become well-behaved, no longer causing trouble and creating unwholesome karma, no longer willfully clinging, but having subdued afflictions and gradually becoming tranquil (praśama) and non-active. Then our cultivation gains power, and subsequent practice will advance a thousand li a day, unstoppable.

4. When one sees tea and wants to drink tea, which mind is this wanting-to-drink mind? One possibility is the mind consciousness; another is the manas. First, because the mind consciousness has drunk tea in this life and understands tea's nutritional effects, it transmits the idea of drinking tea to the manas; after the manas discerns it, He may agree to drink tea. In the process of tasting the tea, the mind consciousness transmits the feelings to the manas; the manas comes to know them, is perfumed in the mind, and also comes to love drinking tea, and the karma seeds are stored in the tathāgatagarbha—this is current manifestations perfuming seeds.

If there were karma seeds of liking tea from past lives, then in this life upon encountering tea, after the mind consciousness discerns it and transmits the information to the manas, the manas wants to drink tea, and thus drives the six consciousnesses to brew tea, pour tea, and drink tea—this is seeds perfuming current manifestations. If in past lives one did not like drinking tea, and the karma seeds are stored in the tathāgatagarbha, then in this life upon encountering tea, even when others urge one to drink, the manas does not like tea and has no interest, so the tea cannot be drunk. All matters, great and small, are decided by the manas; the mind consciousness's opinions and views are only a reference, which the manas may or may not follow.

If the manas is not interested in drinking tea, no amount of urging by others will help; the manas simply does not make the decision, and the mind consciousness cannot drink the tea. But if the mind consciousness long remains in an environment of tea drinking, gradually being perfumed and trying a little, it will come to like tea more and more, and at the same time will perfume the manas; the manas will also come to like tea, and the karma seeds will have changed.

5. It Is the Differences in the Manas That Cause the Differences in the Mind Consciousness

When noble ones come to this evil world of the five turbidities, why is their mind consciousness not easily perfumed? Why is the Buddha's mind consciousness not perfumed at all? Whether the mind consciousness is perfumed depends mainly on whether the manas's power is strong. Noble ones' manas has no afflictions, so their mind consciousness, relying on the manas, has no afflictions and is not easily perfumed by the environment; the Buddha's mind consciousness is fundamentally not subject to defilement, like a lotus in the mud. Ordinary beings' manas has heavy ignorance and afflictions, so the perfuming of the mind consciousness is heavy, and the mind consciousness easily gives rise to afflictions; bhūmi-attained bodhisattvas are much the same, only slightly better. But whether noble one or ordinary being, when the five-aggregate body is first born, the mind consciousness is equal for all—a blank sheet of paper, pure and flawless; only afterward is it perfumed and led by one's own manas, and behavioral manifestations differ. Then, further perfumed by the environment, parents, and others, the mind consciousness's behavioral manifestations differ even more.

The same mind consciousness originally has no differences; under the same environmental pollution, why is the Buddha's and noble ones' mind consciousness not perfumed, while ordinary beings' mind consciousness is perfumed? Is it a difference in environment, or a difference in the manas? Let us not speak for now of the transformation of consciousnesses into wisdom, but just of childhood, and of times before studying Buddhism—why is there such a great difference in the mind consciousness? In the same dye vat, why does one become seriously dyed and corrupted, with greed, anger, and delusion blazing, while the other can still remain pure and keep himself clean? There is only one explanation: the difference in the manas causes the difference in the mind consciousness—nothing more.

If the manas innately had no greed, anger, or delusion, yet the postnatal mind consciousness could be perfumed into the appearance of greed, anger, and delusion, that would be extremely strange. If that were the case, then the Buddha's manas, having no greed, anger, or delusion, born into this evil world of the five turbidities, should also have His mind consciousness dyed with greed, anger, and delusion—then what use would cultivation be? Therefore, the reason the mind consciousness has greed, anger, and delusion lies entirely in the manas having greed, anger, and delusion; if the manas had no greed, anger, or delusion, the mind consciousness could in no way be perfumed into greed, anger, and delusion. For bodhisattvas whose consciousnesses have transformed into wisdom, dwelling in defiled environments, their mind consciousness will not be perfumed with greed, anger, and delusion, and their bodhisattva stage will not regress, will not revert to being bhūmi-attained bodhisattvas with the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, and will not fall back to before the third fruit and the fourth-fruit aspiration.

The differences between each person do not lie in a single life; within one life, not that great a difference can accumulate—differences are accumulated over life after life. Therefore, the differences among sentient beings lie in the manas: it is the manas's differences that cause the differences in the mind consciousness's bodily, verbal, and mental actions, cause the differences in the mind consciousness's wisdom, and cause the differences in merit and meditative concentration. Because of the manas's differences, the mind consciousness differs in every aspect, and the wisdom for understanding problems also differs greatly. The manas's wisdom is extremely important; it is an asset from the five aggregates' past lives, called the faculty of wisdom (indriya). If the manas does not have good wisdom, then our past-life cultivation was all cultivated in vain, and those perfumings of Buddha-dharma and worldly dharmas from past lives were also perfumed in vain, unable to be brought to this life for use.

6. The actions of the six consciousnesses are led and dominated by the manas; if the manas's afflictive defilement has not been subdued, all bodily, verbal, and mental actions are still dominated by the manas's afflictive habits. The mind consciousness wants to control its own bodily, verbal, and mental actions but cannot, and therefore, seeing its own non-Dharma-conforming bodily, verbal, and mental actions, it feels shame and self-reproach—which is actually blaming the manas, only the mind consciousness does not understand this is the manas's problem and thinks it is the mind consciousness's own problem. If it were the mind consciousness's own problem, once the mind consciousness awakens to it, it could immediately correct it, which is not difficult. But regarding the manas's problems, the mind consciousness at times feels helpless; it can only study more dharma, understand more principles, and master more skillful means to persuade and perfume the manas; only then will the manas's afflictive habits gradually be restrained.

Most of what we now encounter is helplessly something we must bear; it is our own causes, conditions, and retribution, which cannot be avoided or chosen and must be passively accepted. Within our circumstances and experiences, there are also some accidental factors and sudden events that enable us to change cause and effect, both actively and passively. When one cultivates to a certain degree, one gains the ability to control and change cause and effect, and then body and mind become relatively at ease.

7. When karmic power manifests, it is the manas that is creating and controlling everything; He gives the mind consciousness no chance to argue, and the event happens. But after the event has passed, who is it that regrets?

After the event, the mind consciousness regrets first, because the mind consciousness can observe and analyze its own bodily, verbal, and mental actions and knows right from wrong, and only then does it regret. The content of the mind consciousness's regret can be discerned by the manas at the same time; if the manas accepts the mind consciousness's regret and Himself regrets the preceding bodily, verbal, and mental actions, then the manas can thereafter correct those actions; if the manas does not accept the mind consciousness's regret, then the manas will not regret, will proceed as always without changing His bodily, verbal, and mental behavior, and the mind consciousness's regret will not have had its due effect—one will still follow the manas's habits as before.

8. Seeds perfuming current manifestations: the perfumings the manas has received since beginningless kalpas are brought into this life and can perfume the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses, causing them to act according to the manas's ignorance and habits, in accord with the manas's habitual tendencies. For example, a person of considerable cultivation is born in this life; from childhood he is kind-hearted, pure in nature, delights in goodness and generosity, and loves to help others; no matter how serious the evil conduct of the people around him, he does not follow along in evil deeds, but still conducts himself and acts according to his own (manas's) pure, undefiled habits. Another example: a non-Buddhist practitioner who in past lives was perfumed with the non-Buddhists' annihilatory emptiness (uccheda-śūnyatā) comes in this life to cultivate within the Buddha-dharma; no matter how he is taught the Mahāyāna emptiness principle of the tathāgatagarbha, his inner mind (the manas) simply will not be perfumed and still accords with the non-Buddhists' emptiness, refusing to change.

Śrāvakas of fixed lineage, because in past lives their minds were narrow, wanting only personal liberation from suffering and attainment of happiness, escape from the three realms and liberation, indifferent to the suffering of sentient beings' birth and death—even though the World-Honored One perfumed them with the supreme Mahāyāna dharma for decades, they still took no delight in the Mahāyāna, refused to change their narrow minds, did not turn their minds toward the Mahāyāna, still sought nirvāṇa without remainder, annihilating all dharmas, and some even attained parinirvāṇa before the World-Honored One's own parinirvāṇa. This is because the arhats' manas had been perfumed by the Small Vehicle for too long, and the seeds were deeply rooted and hard to change.

Therefore, if a person has meager merit (alpa-puṇya) and poor conditions, and in studying Buddhism believes only in Small Vehicle dharmas, non-Buddhist dharmas, or even wrong dharmas by which enlightenment is forever impossible, then after such perfuming and cultivation, the seeds are stored in the tathāgatagarbha; even if in later lives he encounters the true Dharma again, it will be hard for him to be perfumed, and he will still practice according to former improper methods. It is like a sheet of white paper that has already been heavily smeared—no matter how it is scrubbed, it cannot be cleaned, and a good painting can no longer be made on it; it would be better to have a blank sheet of paper, which is easy to paint on. Therefore, at the very beginning of our cultivation we must choose well the dharma we cultivate, must not take the wrong path or learn the wrong dharma, and must avoid storing incorrect dharma seeds in the tathāgatagarbha, which would cause us to fall through birth and death for many lives.

9. When the manas has not eradicated afflictions and habitual tendencies, His rationality is poor, and He appears naive, childish, and emotional. The mind consciousness has both rationality and emotion, and its emotional coloring is also related to the manas's habits. Because the mind consciousness can clearly discern mental sense-objects (dharma-viṣaya) and engage in rational thinking and analysis, and can make correct choices, this rationality can edify the manas and thereby change the manas's habits. The mind consciousness has feelings of suffering and pleasure, and therefore carries emotional coloring and can give rise to emotions such as liking and disliking, hatred, and so on. For example, upon meeting a relative from a past life, the karma seeds manifest; the manas accords with the karma seeds and has the habit of greed, driving the mind consciousness to unconsciously display emotions of joy and attachment—but the mind does not know why, because this is not a person the mind consciousness has come to know through deliberation and analysis; after all, they are not familiar, and the emotion was manipulated out by the manas, so the mind consciousness does not know the reason.

10. The mind consciousness of each life is newly born; before cultivating supernormal powers, it cannot connect with experiences of past lives. The mind consciousness has no habits from past lives, only the habits of the present life, and at death those habits cease along with the mind consciousness. The manas has the habits of the five aggregates of past lives, the afflictive habits of the five aggregates from countless kalpas, and accords with the seeds of those habits. When the habits of the mind consciousness's bodily, verbal, and mental actions appear, they often display the manas's habits—the result of being perfumed and directed by the manas.

The mind consciousness does not accord with karma seeds; when the mind consciousness's manifestations accord with karma seeds, it is still the manas's habits, led and dominated by the manas's decision. On one hand, the mind consciousness is perfumed by the present six sense objects; on the other hand, it is also perfumed by the manas's habits from beginningless kalpas. If the mind consciousness has the power of meditative concentration and wisdom, then when the manas's afflictive habits manifest, it can rationally deliberate and analyze the pros and cons, and then control the manas's afflictive habits so as to change the manas. Once the manas's choice changes, the mind consciousness's rationality has perfumed the manas; when the manas truly changes, the karma seeds change, and thereafter the manas no longer manifests such afflictive habits—thus the mind consciousness's current manifestation has perfumed the seeds. When the manas originally formed the habit of smoking, that too was the result of being perfumed by the mind consciousness; now, to eliminate the smoking habit also relies on the mind consciousness's perfuming and transformation—"Xiao He made him successful, and Xiao He brought him down."

11. Knowing full well that gambling and playing games are bad, one still gambles and plays anyway. "Knowing full well" means the mind consciousness clearly knows; "transgressing anyway" means the mind consciousness has no choice but to do it, because the manas's habitual inertia of loving gambling is very strong and must coerce the mind consciousness into gambling; the mind consciousness understands one should not gamble, but has no way out and must obey. Therefore, for some principles, staying on the shallow surface of the mind consciousness is useless; if the manas, this inner mind, does not accept and does not understand, the mental conduct will not change.

In our daily lives we must not merely engage in verbal Zen, playing with our tongues; we should also deeply deliberate on the profound principles within. The process of deliberation is the process of making the manas understand the principles; once the manas understands, the mental conduct changes, and cultivation succeeds. Many people can spout verbal Zen, but when it comes to actual practice, how many can do it? Verbal Zen is the mind consciousness; the one who actually decides is the manas—whatever the manas wants done, the six consciousnesses must do. Therefore, when encountering matters, use your brain and deliberate more; only after deliberating clearly should you take action, and then the manas's decisions may not go wrong.

12. Seeds Perfuming Current Manifestations

When an infant is first born, the mind consciousness is brand new and has not yet been perfumed by the postnatal environment, yet it likes warm, dry surroundings—this displays the manas's innate habits. The manas takes the body faculty as object, discerns the condition of the body faculty's contact objects, knows that warm and dry contact objects are comfortable and that cool and damp ones are uncomfortable, and causes the mind consciousness to produce corresponding reactions: in a comfortable environment the infant peacefully falls asleep; in an uncomfortable environment it cries and fusses and will not sleep. These habits of the manas were formed over life after life; the tathāgatagarbha instantly knows His reactions and choices regarding the environment, and cooperates by producing the six consciousnesses to display the manas's emotions; therefore the bodily actions of the six consciousnesses are led by the manas.

The manifestations of the six consciousnesses are the embodiment of the manas's thoughts and mental conduct—past-life seeds becoming current manifestations. All karma seeds of sentient beings are stored by the tathāgatagarbha and output by the tathāgatagarbha; after the present bodily, verbal, and mental actions are performed, they are transmitted to the manas and then stored by the tathāgatagarbha, and all of the manas's mental conduct is also stored as karma seeds by the tathāgatagarbha. In the future, when the seeds mature, the tathāgatagarbha outputs the seeds again—of course, whatever was stored is what is output—and the seeds become current manifestations.

13. The Mental Struggle Between the Mind Consciousness and the Manas

For people with rationality and awakening, struggles and contests between the mind consciousness and the manas frequently occur, especially after studying Buddhism: the mind consciousness has learned some Buddhist views and true principles of worldly dharmas, has gained some awakening, is unwilling to again follow the manas's afflictive habits, feels some aversion to the manas's afflictive habits, and wants to oppose and resist them—especially after keeping precepts and cultivating patience, the contradictory phenomenon of conflict between the two occurs even more, with mutual confrontation and contention; this is a contest between the mind consciousness's rationality and the manas's bad habits.

The mind consciousness has understood some principles of being a person and of cultivation, and thus has rationality and its own new ideas and views, while the manas is still mired in the bad habits accumulated over kalpas, has not broken free, and still wants to hold fast to afflictive habits. Because the two have inconsistent thoughts and views, conflicts arise in doing things, with a standoff in the mind. If the mind consciousness is persuasive, it can temporarily gain the upper hand, and the manas will decide according to the mind consciousness's ideas; for the mind consciousness to permanently gain the upper hand, it must thoroughly persuade and subdue the manas—the manas must truly understand and agree with the mind consciousness's ideas and completely transform Himself; otherwise, when the mind consciousness relaxes its control and its ideological education, the manas will still make choices according to habitual inertia, and the six consciousnesses will have no choice but to execute them.

When a beginning student of Buddhism, whose manas has not been perfumed and does not understand the benefits of studying Buddhism, encounters adverse conditions, he does not want to study Buddhism; but the mind consciousness has already tasted the various benefits of studying Buddhism and therefore delights in studying and practicing, so the two come into conflict and reach a standoff, and the mind consciousness becomes hesitant about studying Buddhism, not knowing what to do. The one who wants to study Buddhism must be the mind consciousness, because the mind consciousness has already understood the principles, while the manas has not yet understood them. Through studying Buddhism and through contact with other Buddhist practitioners, the mind consciousness knows there are many benefits to studying Buddhism—this is the mind consciousness's knowing; but the manas does not yet clearly understand this principle, so upon encountering a little difficulty, the manas wants to retreat and decides not to study.

The one who does not want to study is the manas, subconscious and subliminal, hinting to the mind consciousness to stop studying. But because the mind consciousness has understood the principles, it may disregard the manas's hints, or may hesitate somewhat and consider more, so these two minds are constantly struggling. The so-called struggle is: the mind consciousness has one idea, the manas has another idea, and the two ideas do not agree—what the manas decides to do, the mind consciousness is unwilling to do; what the mind consciousness wants to do, the manas does not decide to do. Because the manas is accustomed to ease and laziness, He does not want to do anything He considers without benefit, and He does not accord with the mental factor of diligence (vīrya).

Because the mind consciousness has studied the dharma, it knows that laxity is bad, that loving ease leads to saṃsāra and cannot be indulged in for comfort, and that diligent study of Buddhism leads to liberation; so the two consciousness-minds' opinions are not unified, and they must wage a mental struggle, deliberating back and forth in the mind. Of course, the one deliberating back and forth and unable to make up its mind is the manas; there may also be the mind consciousness's continuous thinking, which influences the manas's continuous deliberation, so that no final decision can be made. The manas and the mind consciousness operate together; the mind consciousness's thinking is relatively obvious and easy to observe, while the manas's deliberative nature is very hard to observe—therefore it is said the manas is the hidden consciousness, buried too deep. The final outcome depends on which of the two has the greater power: if the mind consciousness's perfuming is relatively deep and can withstand the manas's inertial force, arguing on sound reasoning, then through thinking activity it can persuade the manas, and the manas will decide to persist in studying Buddhism.

If the manas's habits gain the upper hand, the mind consciousness has no choice but to follow the manas's habits, because after all it is the manas who decides and has the final say; if the mind consciousness cannot persuade the manas, it must take orders from the manas—fine, then we just won't study—and so one slackens off. All actions and creations of the mind consciousness and the six consciousnesses are necessarily directed and commanded by the manas; therefore our mind consciousness should study more Buddha-dharma and understand more principles, so as to guide and persuade the manas. Through the mind consciousness's deliberation, the manas comes to know that studying Buddhism has such benefits, that studying Buddhism is better; then no matter what adverse conditions are encountered, the manas will also decide to persist in studying Buddhism without retreating.

After studying to a certain point, when the manas understands the principles, His habits will gradually transform; the more principles the manas understands, the more He can realize. So-called realization means the manas understands that the principle is indeed so—only that is called realization. If the manas does not know, and it is only the mind consciousness's knowing, that is very shallow and has no decisive effect, and is not called realization.

Even if the mind consciousness knows many principles, its effect is not great, because matters must go to the manas for approval; only if the manas passes them can they be implemented. After the mind consciousness understands a principle, it submits the report; the manas reviews it, confirms it is indeed this principle, and once He gives the final approval, we can eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa) and see the mind. Therefore, cultivation, in the end, is cultivating the manas; at the beginning it is cultivating the mind consciousness—once the principles understood by the mind consciousness are implemented in the manas, every dharma can be realized.