The Right Understanding of Manas
Chapter 12: The Manas and Sleep
1. Dreaming arises because of the manas's characteristic of grasping and clinging. Because the manas possesses the imputed nature (parikalpita-svabhāva), before its clinging nature has been eradicated, it must inevitably grasp and cling to all dharmas or to certain dharmas and constantly dwell upon them. Therefore, even during sleep the manas refuses to settle into tranquility; it still grasps at the states of the six sense objects and still deliberates (manasikāra) upon certain dharmas, remaining unable to let go of the things it has experienced. Since it does not possess strong powers of discrimination and reflection, it must let the mind consciousness complete what it wants to do, and so the mind consciousness must be generated, carrying out activities of discrimination according to the objects the manas grasps at. These activities of discrimination and deliberation, and so forth, constitute the dream.
Because in dreams one is not burdened or restricted by the coarse material body, wherever the manas grasps, the mind consciousness can follow and discriminate there, unrestricted by time and space, free and unrestrained. Thus in dreams one is in the heavens one moment and underground the next, in the past one moment and in the future the next, all of which can be linked together into a single dream; the times, places, people, and events are mostly jumpy and disconnected. The common saying "what one thinks of by day, one dreams of by night" is precisely speaking of the manas. "Thinking" refers to the people, matters, and things the manas deliberates upon and dwells on during the day, which then, without one's awareness, appear in the dream at night—all of this is manifested by the manas's grasping. If the manas can reduce its grasping, sleep will be peaceful and there will be no more dreams.
To subdue the manas's imputed nature (parikalpita-svabhāva), one must rely on the mind consciousness's activities of proper analysis and deliberation to persuade and guide the manas, so that the manas no longer greedily clings to worldly dharmas. In this way, not only will one no longer dream, but daytime wandering thoughts will also diminish and disappear. The process by which the mind consciousness, through proper deliberation, persuades and guides the manas is precisely the process of subduing one's mind. Through proper listening to, and contemplation of, the correct Buddhadharma, and through proper methods of contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), one eradicates the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi); only afterward can one truly subdue one's mind, thereby eradicating afflictions and afflictive habits. Only when the self-grasping has been completely eradicated will the manas no longer cling to the world of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha), attain liberation, and one's cultivation will achieve some small success.
2. The manas is active both before and after falling asleep; one must cultivate to a considerable degree before one can observe the manas's various activities. As for the mind consciousness and the manas transforming consciousness into wisdom, that is a matter for bodhisattvas at and beyond the first and second bhūmis. The momentary activity before and after waking up, when there is no mind consciousness, can only be observed by the manas, but the manas must first transform consciousness into wisdom for this to be possible. After falling asleep there is no mind consciousness, and before waking up there is also no mind consciousness. During the process of falling asleep, the mind consciousness gradually weakens until it disappears; during the process of waking up, the mind consciousness gradually appears until it can discern the six sense objects. In between, the manas plays a great role. He has been present all along, functioning all along, controlling and directing the mind consciousness, mastering the entire process of falling asleep and waking up. He can know some things, only not clearly, and at times his discrimination is even confused and mistaken.
3. When one is asleep without dreams, the six consciousnesses have all ceased, and only the tathāgatagarbha and the manas are still operating. At this time the manas is continuously conditioning upon the mental sense-object (dharma-viṣaya), grasping at inner and outer dharmas, and the tathāgatagarbha, in accordance with the manas, continuously manifests the mental sense-objects. Although the manas can discern all dharmas in a general, rough way, because the mind consciousness has ceased, the mind consciousness does not know it. During sleep, if there is no major or unusual matter, the manas does not specially grasp at anything and does not wish to undertake any activity, so the mind consciousness will not appear and there will be no dream—this is the state of dreamless sleep.
When there is a dream, it is because the manas's deliberative conditioning is heavy, clinging to and pondering certain dharmas; the tathāgatagarbha, in accordance with this, continuously manifests subjectively imagined realms, and must generate the mind consciousness to discern and act, and mental activities are continuously produced—this is dreaming. In the dream, the mind and mental activities turn along with the dream, yet within the dream one does not know it is a dream, taking it to be an actual state, treating all people, matters, and things as real; thus mental activities keep arising, just as when awake. Because in the dream there is no obstruction from the physical body, the discerning and acting of the consciousness-mind is not limited by time and place, as if one had supernatural powers.
For example, in the state of the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava), because there is no substantial physical obstruction, supernatural powers appear. Ghosts, spirits, non-human beings, and so forth have no substantial physical body, and so they have supernatural powers; devas likewise have no bodily obstruction and also have supernatural powers. Therefore supernatural powers should not become the goal we pursue. When we are awake, the actual world is in fact just as illusory as a dream, yet we all take the six sense objects to be truly existent, and thus give rise to various feelings and experiences, produce various bodily, verbal, and mental actions, and then increase ignorance, transmigrating through birth and death in the six realms, with immeasurable suffering and distress.
4. The manas grasps and clings without cease; the six faculties are always contacting the six sense objects, and the tathāgatagarbha produces the six consciousnesses within to discern and process the six sense objects. If the six consciousnesses are not produced, then although the six sense objects exist, there is no consciousness-mind to discern them, and the six sense objects are not known. When the body is fatigued, the manas knows the body is tired and needs rest, its grasping at the six sense objects diminishes, the discriminating nature of the six consciousnesses grows weaker and weaker until it disappears, and we gradually fall asleep.
If the mental sense-objects the manas discerns are especially significant—such as an earthquake, a very loud sound, a very bright light, a pungent smell, someone shaking his body, or a full bladder—the manas knows something major has occurred, but He himself has no way to handle it, so He will awaken the six consciousnesses to come out and observe and handle it. The same applies when the body is in an unusual condition. The tathāgatagarbha produces the six consciousnesses according to the manas's wishes, or fewer than six consciousnesses, and we gradually wake up. If the body has slept for a while and its fatigue has somewhat recovered, the manas knows this and then wants to discern the mental sense-objects again; the tathāgatagarbha will manifest the mind consciousness to discriminate, and a dream appears.
A person with cultivation knows that he is dreaming; a person with good cultivation will guard his mind well in dreams, not creating unwholesome karma, and will even cultivate some wholesome dharmas. Therefore, from one's behavior in dreams, one can see the level of one's cultivation. After a day of activity, when body and mind are fatigued, the manas no longer wishes to discern the six sense objects, the six consciousnesses gradually cease, and one falls asleep. When dawn approaches, or when the body has recovered from fatigue, the manas feels that there should be activity of the five aggregates, that the six sense objects should be discerned, and the tathāgatagarbha will produce the six consciousnesses to gradually discern the six sense objects, and one wakes up. After waking, the consciousness-mind is still just as deluded as in the dream, still grasping at all dharmas as real. Only after enlightenment can one awaken a little; after becoming a Buddha one is completely awake and never deluded again.
5. What Is Insomnia?
The manas knows the daily conditions of the body, such as fatigue and tranquility (praśama). The body faculty's object-aspect (nimitta) manifested by the tathāgatagarbha can all be conditioned upon by the manas, and thus it can also make simple and coarse discernments. When the manas discerns that body and mind have become fatigued to a certain degree, it will act as the decision-maker and let the body rest and sleep, itself no longer engaging in excessive grasping; thus the discernment of the six consciousnesses gradually diminishes, and finally the six consciousnesses cease and one enters sleep. The manas can grasp the daily state of the body's fatigue and the fatigue of the six consciousnesses, and then, according to the situation, decides whether to rest or not, whether to cease them or not—all of this is decided by the manas as the master.
Fatigue belongs to the object of contact; upon this contact-object the mental sense-object manifests, which the manas can condition upon and the mind consciousness can discern. The body consciousness can also feel the contact-object, and the manas will then know what the contact is like and how it should be handled, and will make a decision. If there is nothing special, the manas will decide to sleep, reducing its own grasping and letting the six consciousnesses cease. However, if the manas has important matters to grasp and deliberate upon, then while deciding to sleep it continues grasping, and the mind consciousness will keep mulling things over and over, unable to cease—and then there is insomnia. If the nervous system at the back of the head develops lesions and obstructions, lacking self-regulation and beyond control, and the mental sense-objects continue to be transmitted without end to the supreme faculty (indriya), then the mind consciousness must continuously discriminate and therefore cannot cease—this is one cause of insomnia.
If the body is too exhausted, although the manas decides to sleep, He will still grasp at the contact-object of extreme exhaustion; then the body consciousness and mind consciousness must continuously discern and cannot cease, and insomnia occurs. Or one barely falls asleep, but the body is extremely fatigued or in severe pain; the manas feels the matter is serious but does not know the specifics, so He must awaken the mind consciousness and body consciousness to come out and discern, and we wake from our sleep to experience the body's fatigue and pain and then deal with it.
There is another situation: nervous debility also causes sleeplessness. Nervous debility is when the mind consciousness's pondering and the manas's deliberation (manasikāra) are too heavy, with the mind constantly worrying about and dwelling on certain matters. Because the manas deliberates and dwells too much, it drives the mind consciousness to continuously ponder and think about these matters, unable to forget them for a moment, and thus one cannot easily fall asleep—this is the insomnia of nervous debility. The more the manas dwells on and values something, the less it is willing to let the six consciousnesses cease, always letting the six consciousnesses discern and consider these matters; because the pondering is too heavy, one cannot sleep, manifesting as nervous debility, unable to control one's inner thoughts and grasping.
6. Even in Dreamless Sleep, the Inner Object-Aspect of Material Form Exists
The six faculties contact the six sense objects and give rise to the six consciousnesses; the precondition for the arising of the six consciousnesses is that the six sense objects of the inner object-aspect exist first. In dreamless sleep, if the inner object-aspect of material form did not exist, then neither the mind consciousness nor the eye consciousness would arise, and sentient beings would never wake up. Therefore, during sleep, whether the eyes are closed or open, the inner object-aspect of material form definitely exists. Otherwise, at daybreak the manas would not know it was daylight, would not know the sun had already risen, and would not know when someone shone a flashlight—then a person would never wake up.
Even when an arhat enters the cessation attainment (nirodha-samāpatti), the five sense objects of the inner object-aspect and the mental sense-object still exist for the manas to condition upon; otherwise the arhat would not emerge from the cessation attainment. Some people sit in meditation with their eyes closed yet can still see brightness before them, with white or yellowish-white light. For those with shallow meditative concentration (samādhi), when the eyes are closed there is darkness before them; with deeper concentration, there is red light before them; deeper still, there is white or yellowish-white light before them, not darkness. Even darkness is a kind of material sense-object—all are inner object-aspects of material form, manifested by the tathāgatagarbha. This shows that whether the eyes are closed or open, the tathāgatagarbha manifests the inner object-aspect of material form. By the same token, the other five sense objects are also like this.
During sleep, the manas can still condition upon the six sense objects and can discern the states of the six sense objects. If the state of the six sense objects is very unusual and important and needs to be dealt with, and the manas cannot handle it himself, He needs the tools of the six consciousnesses to handle it. Without the cooperation of the physical body and the six consciousnesses, the manas is helpless before the states of the six sense objects; therefore, whenever the manas has any intention, He must use the six consciousnesses and the physical body to fulfill His wishes—otherwise, however lofty one's ambitions, nothing can be accomplished.
7. How a Person Wakes Up from Sleep
That a person can wake up from sleep is, in general, because the manas feels the body has rested well and recovered from fatigue, or that it is already time to wake, and wishes for activity of the five aggregates and to discern the states of the six sense objects; thus the tathāgatagarbha generates the first six consciousnesses to come out and be active. The manas himself cannot have activity of the five aggregates; He must let the six consciousnesses operate upon the physical body for there to be activity of the five aggregates, and this requires the tathāgatagarbha's cooperation in generating the six consciousnesses. When the manas gives rise to the volition mental factor (cetanā), the tathāgatagarbha discerns the manas's mental activity and will flow forth the seeds of the first six consciousnesses; the six consciousnesses appear, and thus a person gradually wakes up from sleep.
Before waking up, there are no six consciousnesses—only the tathāgatagarbha and the seventh consciousness. The tathāgatagarbha manifests the body's various conditions and the surrounding environment; the manas, on this basis, discerns the bodily condition and environment, feels it is time to get up, and thus wakes up. Or the manas, before sleep, has set a wake-up time; when the time arrives, the manas gives rise to the volition mental factor, the tathāgatagarbha cooperates by generating the six consciousnesses, and the person wakes up. There are also other special circumstances of waking up: in all cases, the manas decides one should wake up, the tathāgatagarbha generates the six consciousnesses, and the person wakes up.
8. What Each Person Wakes Up From Each Day
The manas's grasping nature includes grasping at time. Because of long-term repetition of the same activities, the manas has formed habits; it knows what should be done at what time—this is called inertia. What time each person is accustomed to waking up at is also the manas's inertia; what the secular world calls the "biological clock" refers precisely to the manas's inertia. If one plans to do something at a certain time, the manas must grasp at this continuously, and then at that time, after the manas's attention (manaskāra), the six consciousnesses appear and the person wakes up.
However, the manas does not specifically discern time, because time is merely a name-and-appearance, a conditioned formation not associated with the mind (cittaviprayukta-saṃskāra), without substance, not a real dharma; the manas does not understand name-and-appearance. Time manifests on the basis of certain physical forms and appearances—for example, the light-colors, brightness and darkness, and so forth manifested when sunlight falls upon material sense-objects. After the tathāgatagarbha manifests these phenomena, the manas conditions upon them and begins to deliberate, knowing that at this time one should wake up, and thus makes the decision to have activity of the five aggregates, and the person wakes up. Going to bed at a fixed time at night is likewise a habit formed by the manas, an effect of the manas's inertia.
If one has matters on one's mind and cannot sleep, it is because the manas is severely grasping at some sense-object state, dwelling on certain matters; the mind consciousness must repeatedly ponder the matters the manas grasps at, and when the pondering is excessive, the mind consciousness cannot cease, and one cannot sleep. At such times one must use medication to forcibly cease the mind consciousness in order to sleep. Buddhist practitioners use the methods of recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) and reciting mantras, relying on the blessing power of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas so the mind gains tranquility, removing scattered and confused thoughts, and only then can they fall asleep. Why can medication make a person sleep? Because medication can numb and block the brain's transmission nerves, so that certain six sense objects cannot normally arise at the supreme faculty (indriya); thus the six consciousnesses cease and one falls asleep.
9. When a person is in sleep, if the consciousness-mind exists, there are the functions of consciousness—there are the aggregate of consciousness, the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception, and the aggregate of volitional formations. In dreamless sleep, the six consciousnesses have ceased, but the six faculties remain; the manas grasps at the states of the six sense objects, and the tathāgatagarbha, through the six faculties, still manifests the inner six sense objects based on the outer six sense objects—only there are no six consciousnesses to discern them. The body faculty and the other four faculties are still functioning, so at this time there is bodily action—breathing, heartbeat, pulse, blood circulation, cellular metabolism, and other activities—different from a dead person. Because the manas is still grasping at the physical body, there is the activity of lifespan, warmth, and consciousness.
If the manas decides to leave the physical body—for example, when a person is disheartened and no longer wants to live—after the tathāgatagarbha discerns this, it will accord with the manas's decision and leave the physical body, and the person dies. If a person is gravely ill and the body is nearly unusable, but his manas extremely clings to the physical body and refuses to leave, the tathāgatagarbha accords with the manas and also does not leave the body, continuing to accompany the manas in sustaining the life activities; the physical body will still have faint functions, and the patient must painfully and reluctantly go on living. Therefore, the manas's clinging nature and power of decision are extremely formidable. Even so, it does not depart from karmic conditions and cannot overcome the power of karma.
10. If during sleep the mind consciousness exists, then one is not asleep, or sleeping very lightly, or dreaming. In that case, the mind consciousness's rest is insufficient, and one will certainly be fatigued the next day. In true sleep, the mind consciousness is extinguished, while the manas is not extinguished and the tathāgatagarbha is also present. The manas is still grasping at the six sense objects, so the tathāgatagarbha must continuously manifest the six sense objects—only there are no six consciousnesses to discern them, so nothing is known. In fact, at this time the six sense objects all exist; within the supreme faculty (indriya) there are the six sense objects. If a special matter arises and the manas wants to know what it is, but has no way to know it in detail and yet wants to handle it, the tathāgatagarbha, knowing this, manifests the mind consciousness to discern and handle it.
In dreamless sleep there are mental sense-objects; the manas contacts the mental sense-objects and wishes to discern them; the mind consciousness arises, contacts the mental sense-objects, and discriminates them. Moreover, the first five sense objects also exist. These six sense objects are manifested by the tathāgatagarbha through the manas's attention and grasping; subsequently, the eye consciousness, ear consciousness, body consciousness, and so forth will be produced by the tathāgatagarbha to discern what situation has arisen. Sometimes it is a urgent need to urinate, sometimes a strong light, sometimes a loud noise, sometimes someone pushing him awake, sometimes pain, and so forth. That is to say, in dreamless sleep, the manas is still grasping without rest; He does not sleep, and the tathāgatagarbha does not sleep either—the two of them are both keeping to their posts, each fulfilling its duty. If the manas wishes to leave the physical body, the tathāgatagarbha will also leave along with it, and the person dies immediately. If the manas does not leave the body, the tathāgatagarbha sustains the body, maintaining all the life activities of the physical body; with the tathāgatagarbha present, the physical body has lifespan, warmth, and consciousness, and is a living being.
11. During sleep, because one feels the blanket is heavy, one automatically turns over, even though one is not aware of it at the time; at this moment there is also the functioning of the body consciousness and mind consciousness. Turning over is also a function of consciousness; the body faculty itself is a passive receiver and transmitter—if there is no function of consciousness, the faculty is just a piece of wood or stone. When the manas wants to turn over, the six consciousnesses come out and make the body move; at this time there is a faint body consciousness and mind consciousness. Why does the manas decide to turn over? Because the blanket is heavy, the manas contacts this mental sense-object and knows it affects the body, that the body is uncomfortable under pressure, so He lets the body consciousness and mind consciousness come out to discern the situation and then handle it; thus the body consciousness and mind consciousness together turn the body over.
If one turns over somewhat frequently, sleep is poor, and one will feel weary the next day, because the body has not rested well. If turning over in sleep were not the function of the six consciousnesses, then in a coma, when the manas wants to move the body, He should be able to move it; but in a coma the body cannot move. Although the manas constantly wants the body to become active and to make oneself wake up, He cannot do it—the help of the six consciousnesses is required.
When turning over in the middle of the night, because the body is fatigued and the mind consciousness is weak, one may not necessarily be able to introspect upon one's own operation; the degree of the mind consciousness's strength or weakness differs, and the power of introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala) differs accordingly. Therefore some people know what state they were in and what they did in the middle of the night, while others do not. When one does not know, the sleep is deep and of good quality; yet there is still a rapid and faint discernment by the mind consciousness. When the mind consciousness is faint, one can hardly feel the mind consciousness's own existence and operation, and the manas's function stands out. Much of what the manas directly discerns, the mind consciousness does not necessarily know; and the manas has no designations (names) and cannot express it.
12. Dreams and Cultivation
Dreams exist according to the manas's grasping and are controlled by the manas. When the body is fatigued, one dreams in the early morning; in the dream the manas wants to get up, but the body is too fatigued to rise—the manas knows this, yet still wants to wake up. In the half-awake state, the brain is not clear and is groggy, so the manas decides to let the mind consciousness slap the back of its own head to make itself wake up. But when slapping, the hand cannot reach the back of the head, showing that in the dream there is no body consciousness.
The manas can understand the body's condition and can understand time; He has His own volition mental factor (cetanā), His own deliberative nature, His own activities. When one's Buddhist study has penetrated to the manas, He also accords with the mental factor of diligence, no longer craving sleep, and in dreams He accords with the dharmas learned during the day. If the manas's afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion are very heavy, then in dreams He likewise makes the mind consciousness create afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion. Sometimes the mind consciousness can introspect upon this, sometimes it cannot. When it can introspect, the mind consciousness is awakened and may be said to have some cultivation, able to restrain its greedy, angry, and deluded behavior somewhat—its mental activity is not bad. If one does not create the karmic afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion at all, that is even better. If one cannot control oneself in dreams, one's cultivation is still not effective and more effort is needed.
13. Why Is It Easy to Wake Up from a Nightmare but Not from an Ordinary Dream?
In a nightmare, the mind consciousness in the dream is extremely frightened and always wants to avoid and escape the dream state. When the manas knows this, He will decide to avoid the dream state; thus the solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) discerning the dream transforms into consciousness accompanied by the five senses (pañca-sahagata-mano-vijñāna). When the five-sense-accompanied consciousness appears, one of the five sense consciousnesses also appears along with it, and the five aggregates wake up. Just after waking, the mind consciousness is still fearful; after pondering a while, knowing it was a dream, one recovers and is no longer afraid, though in recalling the dream, one's heart may still have lingering fear.
Why does the heart have lingering fear, feeling frightened? Because the manas experienced the dream and, relying on the mind consciousness's discernment, knows the dream was terrifying; after waking, the manas still knows the dream was terrifying. Because His self-grasping is heavy, the five-sense-accompanied consciousness, relying on the manas, feels the lingering fear. But the five-sense-accompanied consciousness did not experience the dream—it was the solitary consciousness that experienced the dream. Although the two are the same consciousness, the states they discerned are not entirely the same; there are some differences. The five-sense-accompanied consciousness can still recall the dream state to some extent, after all, being the same consciousness; but the events of past lives cannot be recalled.
In an ordinary dream, the mind consciousness in the dream feels indifferent—neither delighted nor afraid—and does not want to escape; the manas does not decide to wake from the dream, and so the dream continues according to the manas's grasping, without one being startled awake or waking up in excitement and joy. Because the manas does not cling much to the dream, after waking, the mind consciousness cannot easily recall it; more often it is mostly forgotten.
14. Question: In the middle of the night, while asleep without dreams, a fire suddenly breaks out and one wakes up. After waking, the mind consciousness certainly exists. In the second before waking up, was the mind consciousness involved?
Answer: Waking up is the decision made by the manas after discerning a major and unusual event such as a fire. The manas also has a certain capacity for discernment; He can discern coarse states of the mental sense-objects and can also independently make decisions. Even when the mind consciousness exists, the manas can still make decisions independently, not obeying the mind consciousness's arrangements and suggestions. Most of the time, the manas makes decisions independently and does not heed the mind consciousness's analysis and persuasion; and in some sentient beings, the mind consciousness does not even know how to analyze and persuade.
When the fire appears, the manas decides to wake up. The manas contacts the situation of the fire, knows it is bad, knows this matter is extremely serious and dangerous, but He himself cannot avoid or resolve the fire, so He decides to wake up quickly. Thus, when the mind consciousness and eye consciousness appear, the five-aggregate body will produce a rapid emergency response—this is controlled by the manas; the mind consciousness has no time to analyze in detail. Of course, the mental sense-object of the fire comes from the outer five sense objects; the manas knows it is serious and wants the mind consciousness to discern it quickly, so the mind consciousness arises; the mind consciousness alone cannot discern it, so one of the five sense consciousnesses, the eye consciousness, appears along with it, discerning together with the mind consciousness; the solitary consciousness changes into the five-sense-accompanied consciousness, and thus the five aggregates wake up; the manas decides to get up, and the five-aggregate body gets up, either escaping or finding a way to extinguish the fire. The mind consciousness in the dream is the solitary consciousness; the one that wakes up is the five-sense-accompanied consciousness. One of the five sense consciousnesses must come out for a sentient being to wake up.
The manas cannot discern the six sense-object states in too much detail; otherwise the mind consciousness would have no use—the manas could just play by Himself. In coma and at death He is not afraid, because He could dispense with relying on the mind consciousness and substitute His own activity for that of the mind consciousness. In fact, it is not like this.
