The Right Understanding of Manas

Chapter Sixteen: Miscellaneous Discussions on the Manas

1. Realms Turn According to the Mind

That which can truly manifest realms, change realms, and transform realms is the tathāgatagarbha; however, realms do not transform according to the tathāgatagarbha alone. The tathāgatagarbha by itself cannot manifest realms, cannot change realms, cannot transform realms; He transforms in accordance with the transformations of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. The six consciousnesses transform first, driving the seventh consciousness to transform. After the seventh consciousness has transformed, the tathāgatagarbha, following and cooperating with the seventh consciousness, can then transform the realm. If only the sixth consciousness transforms, the realm still cannot be transformed, because the mind consciousness is not the master consciousness and cannot directly command the tathāgatagarbha to output seeds and create all dharmas. The tathāgatagarbha obeys the command of the seventh consciousness; whatever dharma the seventh consciousness wants to change, and however it wants to change it, the tathāgatagarbha fully complies and cooperates, so long as karmic seeds exist and karmic conditions have matured. And when the mind of the seventh consciousness transforms, the karmic seeds necessarily transform, and the realm can certainly be transformed.

2. No matter what state the mind consciousness is in, the manas is always active, always deliberating and pondering (manasikāra). When the mind consciousness cannot make up its mind, it may choose to blank out and stare vacantly, and perhaps at some moment a good idea will pop up — that idea was thought up by the manas.

The mental activities of the manas are extremely difficult to still. Do not think that when the mind consciousness is still, the manas is still too. The manas's mental activity is probably something none of us can observe — it is too deep. Even if the manas could be temporarily stilled, one still could not enter Nirvāṇa without remainder. We must hold correct concepts about Nirvāṇa without remainder: only when the manas has completely severed all craving and attachment for the worldly dharmas of the three realms, completely severed all attachment to the self's body of the five aggregates, and holds no hope whatsoever for the world, can one enter Nirvāṇa without remainder at the end of life.

Entering Nirvāṇa without remainder requires a process: one must realize the first, second, third, and fourth fruits, possess meditative concentration (samādhi) of the first dhyāna or above, and have severed all afflictions. Then the manas's mental activity becomes fewer and fewer, and entering samādhi becomes very easy and very fast. At the time of death, the four great elements of the physical body disintegrate, the manas's five universal mental factors diminish; it no longer applies attention to the three realms, no longer receives feeling, no longer grasps marks, no longer discriminates, no longer makes choices, and does not want any further activity. The tathāgatagarbha then no longer gives birth to any dharmas; the body of the five aggregates ceases, there is no neutrino-body (antarā-bhava), no further rebirth, and one enters Nirvāṇa without remainder.

3. Within each person's tathāgatagarbha is contained the manas's ignorance; moreover, the degree and content of that ignorance differ somewhat, and the severity of the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion all differ. Therefore the eons at which each person encounters conditions to study Buddhism differ, and the length of time needed to cultivate and become a Buddha also differs. From beginningless kalpas it has been so by dharmatā: sentient beings with less and lighter ignorance will encounter the Buddha-dharma earlier and cultivate earlier; the heavier the ignorance, the deeper one sinks into the abyss of ignorance, and the more suffering one has. Because sentient beings with heavy and deep ignorance come into contact with the Buddha-dharma later, their study and cultivation is also slow, and the eons until they become Buddhas are extremely long.

In the worlds of the ten directions there are already Buddhas as numerous as immeasurable and boundless, yet the worlds of the ten directions still have so many bacteria, insects, and small animals — so very, very many. In a tiny patch of land, those beings of the evil destinies cannot even be counted; who knows when they will attain a human body, and after attaining a human body, who knows when they will be able to encounter the Buddha-dharma and cultivate. So when we become Buddhas in the future, we will still have become Buddhas ahead of the majority of sentient beings, and behind us there will still be great multitudes of beings suffering in the three evil destinies. Those beings of the evil destinies are still immeasurable, boundless, and boundlessly immeasurable in number — truly unimaginable. Therefore we should all make great vows to extensively deliver immeasurable and boundless sentient beings, freeing them from the sea of suffering.

4. The Bodhisattva Precepts of the Brahma Net Sūtra (Fanwang Jing) are the great precepts of the thousand Buddhas of past, present, and future. From the moment of receiving the precepts and obtaining the precept essence until the attainment of Buddhahood, the precept essence obtained is never lost through lifetime after lifetime; even if one violates the precepts and undergoes evil retribution, the precept essence is not lost. All other precepts are upheld for only one lifetime: when this life's five aggregates perish, the precept essence is lost along with them; the new five aggregates of the next life have no precept essence, and one must receive the precepts anew. Why is this so?

Because what the Brahma Net Sūtra transmits is the Mahāyāna bodhisattva mind-ground precepts. The so-called mind-ground refers to the manas. After receiving the precepts, the manas can gradually become as pure as the true mind-ground, the tathāgatagarbha. The manas represents the true false self of the five aggregates; the mind consciousness cannot represent it, because the mind consciousness arises and ceases moment to moment, is unreliable, and cannot govern the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the five aggregates, and therefore cannot represent the false self of the five aggregates. Thus, at the time of receiving the precepts, restraining only the mental activities of the mind consciousness has no decisive effect; whether the bodily, verbal, and mental actions are pure depends on the manas. Because the manas does not perish through lifetime after lifetime, once it obtains the precept essence, the precept essence is not lost lifetime after lifetime; then, when the five aggregates of later lives encounter evil conditions, thanks to the protective function of the precept essence, the manas can stay away from evil conditions and not commit precept-violating actions.

The precepts are mainly for restraining the manas; restraining the mind consciousness has no real effect. If the manas wants to violate the precepts and the mind consciousness lacks the power to resist, it will inevitably follow along and join in the wrongdoing. After the manas relies on the purity of the tathāgatagarbha, without the mind consciousness's regulation and exhortation, the manas can naturally keep the precepts without overstepping bounds, the mind-ground is pure, and in later lives the mind is pure from birth.

In order for the manas to obtain the precept essence, at the precept-transmission platform one should single-pointedly and attentively visualize the Buddha's light shining upon one's body and mind, the golden light pouring directly from the crown of the head into the field of the heart, the whole body bathed in the Buddha's light. Because of this single-minded focus, the manas, from the bottom of its heart, is willing to accept the blessing of the Buddha's power to obtain the precept essence; the tathāgatagarbha cooperates, and one resonates with the abhiṣeka empowerment of the Buddhas of the ten directions, thereby eliminating the obstructions of past karma and obtaining the precept essence. When the precept essence functions, it can stop evil and prevent wrongdoing, so that one does not create evil karma and does not undergo evil retribution; thus one can advance smoothly on the bodhisattva path and quickly become a Buddha.

If at the precept platform one's thoughts are scattered and one does not visualize single-pointedly, the manas is still attached to other dharmas, with heavy grasping; the mind is not sincere, the tathāgatagarbha cannot cooperate, one cannot resonate with the Buddhas' blessing, and thus cannot obtain the precept essence. Later, when encountering conditions for violating the precepts, there will be no obstruction, and one will very easily create evil karma according to conditions, with evil retribution in the future. And when undergoing evil retribution, the cultivation of the bodhisattva path is obstructed, and becoming a Buddha will be without a fixed date.

5. With the precepts, first restrain the six consciousnesses, then restrain the manas. Keeping the precepts requires the six consciousnesses to keep them first, with the manas keeping them together at the last. The precepts kept by the six consciousnesses are all marked precepts; the precept kept by the manas is the unmarked mind-ground precept, and only when the manas has become extremely pure can it keep the precepts. When the manas can spontaneously keep the precepts, it no longer cares about outward appearances, because the manas has no interest in the worldly realm and no mind for worldly dharmas; then its actions and creations in worldly dharmas carry no fault of the mind and do not violate the precepts. But in order to prevent sentient beings from giving rise to misunderstanding and slander, and in order to better embrace sentient beings, the bodhisattva must still accord with the psychology of the multitude, and all external conduct must also be rigorous and dignified, fully endowed with the three thousand dignified deportments and the eighty thousand subtle details — while inwardly not attaching to these appearances. At that point, the Mahāyāna mind-ground precept is accomplished.

Therefore, in truly judging a person, one cannot look only at the exterior; one must look at his inner mind. Sentient beings lack wisdom and like to attach to surface appearances; bodhisattvas have wisdom and attend to the inner mind. Only a bodhisattva with the mind-ground precepts can better accord with any conditions to deliver sentient beings without being delivered by them, because his mind is not easily moved. The bodhisattva manifests various marks according to conditions, yet the manas deep within does not give rise to thoughts because of those marks. Therefore the Mahāyāna precepts restrain the mind-ground, the manas, while the Hīnayāna precepts restrain the external appearances and the six consciousnesses.

6. External faculties contact external sense-objects, and internal faculties contact internal sense-objects; not only are the internal and external faculties interconnected, the internal and external sense-objects are also interconnected, and even the internal and external consciousnesses are interconnected. The six consciousnesses contact the internal sense-objects and create upon them — do the external sense-objects then change? If they change, do the external objects change first, or the internal objects first?

Through careful contemplation and contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), one can discover that the manas not only acts as master upon the internal sense-objects, playing a driving role, but also acts as master upon the external sense-objects, playing a driving role. This proves that the manas is both an internal and an external consciousness. For example, after a hand takes a book away, the external object — the book — is after all no longer in its original place and others can no longer see it, and the position of the book in one's internal sense-objects has also changed. The change in the external object is decided by the manas, and the change in the internal object is also decided by the manas. For example, when bread is eaten into the mouth and into the stomach, it is certainly the manas that decided to eat it; the internal object is crushed and enters the stomach, and the external object enters the body from outside the mouth — this too is decided by the manas. If the manas did not decide and play the driving role, neither the internal nor the external objects would change for a short time.

Internal sense-objects forever depend on external sense-objects for their arising and existence; without external objects there are no internal objects; first there are external objects, then internal objects. The subjectively imagined realm is the exception: it does not depend on external objects, and is therefore very active and unstable, unpredictable and ever-changing; most of the time the mind consciousness cannot grasp or control it. Why can it not control it? Because the mind consciousness lacks the ability to subdue the manas and the ability to control the manas.

Since internal objects depend on external objects for existence, when the object-realm changes, the external object must change first and the internal object changes accordingly, the changes being almost synchronous. If you change an external object, you simultaneously change the external objects of the related sentient beings, and thereby also change their internal objects. If this change is not permitted by others, it infringes upon their related interests.

For example, if public property is damaged, each person's external and internal objects are changed; if others do not permit it, their interests have been infringed. Damaging and changing another's physical body changes not only one's own internal and external object-aspects (nimitta) but also the other's internal and external object-aspects; the other, being harmed by it, becomes angry, or being benefited by it, becomes delighted. If one damages one's own physical body, one changes not only one's own internal and external objects but also others' internal and external objects; one's own family members do not permit it and suffer pain.

If one changes only one's own internal objects without involving others' internal and external objects, it has nothing to do with others. Only the subjectively imagined realm belongs entirely to oneself and does not involve others' internal and external objects; however it is changed, others do not know. For example, when visualizing a Buddha image and accomplishing the samādhi of recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti-samādhi), with the Buddhas of the ten directions standing before one, no one else can see this scene; when one recollects until the land of bliss (sukhāvatī) appears before one's eyes, others likewise cannot see it — otherwise others would simultaneously accomplish the merit of the samādhi of recollection of the Buddha. Then if one person cultivates, all sentient beings could bask in the reflected glory and accomplish it too.

7. The seventh consciousness accomplishes the Sambhogakāya Buddha and also accomplishes the Nirmāṇakāya Buddha. All dharmas are initiated by the manas and accomplished by the tathāgatagarbha; the Buddha's bodies are also thus. All mind-made bodies (manomayakāya) are initiated by the manas and manifested by the tathāgatagarbha. The manas is the master of karmic retribution; except in Nirvāṇa without remainder, it never perishes, undergoing all kinds of wholesome and unwholesome retribution, endlessly. The manas is the worldly self of the mundane world; the tathāgatagarbha is the supramundane self. Although at the stage of sentient beings it does not yet fully possess the characteristics of a self, it is expediently called the true self, to distinguish it from the false self of the manas. The Sambhogakāya and Nirmāṇakāya Buddhas both perform great Buddha-deeds in the world, propagating the Dharma and delivering beings. The Dharmakāya Buddha is the supramundane Buddha — not in the world, yet not not in the world.

"World" (世) represents transmigration, and transmigration involves the flowing change of time; "realm" (间) represents geographical direction and spatial position — that is, the land and the vessel world (bhājana-loka). The existence of the Sambhogakāya and Nirmāṇakāya Buddhas involves time and space, and is thus in the world. The arising of all dharmas must be in the world; apart from "world" and "realm" no dharma exists. Within the world there is the "world" and the "realm"; the dharma that has neither world nor realm is only the single dharma of the tathāgatagarbha. The Dharmakāya of all Buddhas has no time and no space and needs no world. The Sambhogakāya and Nirmāṇakāya bodies of all Buddhas have both world and realm, with lifespans and lands.

"World" means the three times — past, future, and present — representing time, representing transmigration. Time and space are both brought forth and set off by material form (rūpa). Where there is no matter, that is empty space. Before the universe first formed, there was a vast emptiness with nothing; only after the universe's material form appeared did the vessel world exist and time begin to manifest, and the world gained something to rest upon.

Through the changes of material form, time is made manifest. After the universe's vessel world formed and the world of the three realms was established, the physical bodies of sentient beings could appear, and the world of the five aggregates was established. All these dharmas, including the initial vast void and nothingness, are manifested and given birth by the tathāgatagarbha; they are all the object-aspects (nimitta) of the tathāgatagarbha, within which is the tathāgatagarbha's perceiving-aspect (darśana-bhāga). The tathāgatagarbha first has seeing, then transforms the object-aspect. Therefore, apart from the tathāgatagarbha, everything is illusory and transformed; extinguishing all marks, there is only the one true dharma realm.

In the Buddha-lands of the ten directions, wherever a Buddha dwells in the world, there are great bodhisattvas who have attained the bhūmis studying with that Buddha, and the Buddha must teach the profound Consciousness-Only wisdom of all aspects (sarvākārajñatā). For example, in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī) there are immeasurable and boundless bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, and Amitābha Buddha certainly teaches these bodhisattvas the Consciousness-Only wisdom of all aspects; otherwise why would those great bodhisattvas surround Amitābha Buddha? Śākyamuni Buddha also taught the Consciousness-Only wisdom of all aspects in our Sahā world; there are sūtras that have been left behind, and certainly also sūtras that have not been left behind.

8. The Principle of Nightmares

During a nightmare, the body cannot move and the mouth cannot make a sound; the body has been controlled, the brain's supreme faculty (indriya) has been controlled, and in some cases the manas has been controlled by ghosts.

When the body is controlled, it cannot move, or moves involuntarily — this is manipulated by the ghosts' and spirits' manas. But the mind consciousness is very clear and aware, and the manas can also know.

When the manas is controlled, not only can the body not move, or moves involuntarily, but the consciousness's speech and thinking are also involuntary, manipulated by the ghosts' manas; the bodily, verbal, and mental actions are all involuntary, and the mind consciousness mostly does not know. Once it knows, if the manas has strength, it can break free of the restraint and regain autonomy.

9. The existence of the manas has no beginning. One need only know what it would be like if the manas did not exist to understand why the manas cannot be born later and must have existed since before beginningless kalpas. If the manas were born later, then before the manas was born it would be the state of Nirvāṇa without remainder; segmented birth-and-death (pariccheda-maraṇa) would already have ended, craving for the three realms would no longer exist, and there would be no suffering of birth-and-death in saṃsāra — then sentient beings would be arhats. But sentient beings have never been arhats; if they had been arhats, they would not fall back to being ordinary beings and undergo the suffering of birth-and-death through the six destinies. Sentient beings have also never been Buddhas; if they had been Buddhas, a Buddha would not fall back to being an ordinary sentient being — otherwise our studying Buddhism would be meaningless. In the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment (Yuanjue Jing), the Buddha said: 「金矿提炼出真金以后，不会再掺杂杂质」— this is exactly the principle.

The existence of the manas has no beginning. If it had a beginning, then before that beginning there would be no manas, only the tathāgatagarbha. If that were so, it would be the state of Nirvāṇa without remainder. Who can enter Nirvāṇa without remainder? Arhats who have destroyed attachment to self and severed the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) can enter nirvāṇa; those below the third fruit cannot enter Nirvāṇa without remainder, because beings below the third fruit still have attachment to self and craving for the world of the three realms.

Bodhisattvas who, after seeing the mind and seeing the nature, are at the first bhūmi and above at the full-mind stage can enter Nirvāṇa without remainder, but bodhisattvas deliberately retain delusions to sustain rebirth and do not enter Nirvāṇa without remainder. However, for an arhat who has entered Nirvāṇa without remainder, when the tathāgatagarbha gives birth to the manas and the arhat emerges from the state of nirvāṇa, he is no longer an ordinary being; there is not a single thought of ignorance in the manas, no afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, no attachment to self, no craving for the three realms, and he will never fall back to the state of an ordinary being.

But why, then, can the world have immeasurable numbers of ordinary beings? It would be impossible for there to be ordinary sentient beings. This shows that the ordinary beings in the world have never been arhats, have never severed the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, and have never entered Nirvāṇa without remainder. Therefore, the manas of sentient beings has always existed, existing since before beginningless kalpas, always existing carrying ignorance and afflictions.

Nirvāṇa without remainder is the state of the manas's cessation. If the manas has ceased and perished, is there still anyone who enters Nirvāṇa without remainder? No one enters Nirvāṇa without remainder; within nirvāṇa there is no one. The tathāgatagarbha has always been as it is, and likewise does not enter Nirvāṇa without remainder; whether the manas exists or not, it is neither within nirvāṇa nor outside nirvāṇa — since beginningless kalpas it has always been in that pure and tranquil state of mind. If the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) exists, the seven consciousnesses cannot be extinguished, and at the end of life a neutrino-body (antarā-bhava) will still arise. If one says "I enter nirvāṇa," there is still a self existing within the mind, and one cannot enter Nirvāṇa without remainder, because the mind is not empty and pure. Therefore the existence of the manas has no beginning, but it can have an end — or one can prevent Him from ending, being forever long-lived.

10. The Principle of the Heart-to-Heart Bond Between Mother and Child

A mother is doing needlework at home while her child has an accident outside; suddenly the needle pricks the mother's hand and it bleeds, and the mother immediately senses that something has happened to her child. Or when the mother has an accident, the child suddenly has an intuition at that moment and knows something has happened to the mother.

The principle is that the two people not only have a blood relationship but also very deep karmic affinity. This relationship is in fact a relationship between the two people's manas, and the affinity is also a relationship between the two people's manas. Because of experiences over immeasurable kalpas, the manas knows the relationship between the two people very clearly, so they pay attention to each other; once something happens to one side, the other immediately perceives it. Why is this so? Because the manas, together with its own tathāgatagarbha, knows everything; people and matters it pays particular attention to are of course continuously attended to. Once something unusual happens to the other person, the tathāgatagarbha, according to the manas's intent, sends out that information, and the manas knows. Then it finds a way to let its own mind consciousness know, so that it can be dealt with; if the mind consciousness is not let known, the manas itself cannot handle it.

11. Are the Mental Activities of Animals Neutral (avyākṛta)?

The mental activities of an animal's eighth consciousness are neutral/indeterminate (avyākṛta), the mental activities of an animal's manas are neutral, but the mental activities of an animal's six consciousnesses are not neutral. The karmic actions created by the six consciousnesses are all stored as karmic seeds and all have retribution; for example, an animal that has heard the Buddha-dharma can, after death, ascend to the heavens to enjoy blessings — this is recorded in the Buddhist sūtras. Animals close to humans, living alongside humans, having been perfumed by human dharmas and understanding human affairs, are close to humans and after death easily take rebirth among humans, such as cats and dogs. If an animal unintentionally makes offerings to the Three Jewels, it will in the future obtain great wholesome retribution and realize the fruits quickly — this too is recorded in the Buddhist sūtras.

What distinguishes animals from humans is that an animal's mind consciousness is rather dull and unable to engage in deep and subtle thinking and analysis; its role in offering counsel and guidance to the manas is small. In most cases what manifests is the functioning of the manas's habitual tendencies; therefore animals also appear dull and simple-minded, with relatively few schemes, without hypocrisy, and without slickness. This is also why humans like some animals and fear others.

Animals are all in the midst of repaying the retribution of past lives; because the mind consciousness's power of action is small, their capacity to create new karma is small. When the retribution is exhausted, they will be reborn in the human destiny. The human body is the one in which karma creation is most serious, because humans have great scheming minds and, because the mind consciousness is powerful, can create new karma. The consciousness of desire-realm heavenly beings is also powerful, but they are in the stage of receiving wholesome retribution; because they can fully enjoy their merit, they have no need to create unwholesome karma, and they also create relatively little wholesome karma.