Guide to the Cultivation and Realization of the Manas: Part One
Chapter 3: The Difference Between Understanding and Realization (2)
Thirteen: Can One Become Enlightened After Death When There Is No Mind Consciousness?
There are the following situations in which only the seventh and eighth consciousnesses exist without the six consciousnesses: when unconscious in a coma, when in dreamless sleep, when in the concentration of no perception (asaṃjñā-samāpatti), when in the cessation of perception and feeling (nirodha-samāpatti), and after death when the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava) has not yet arisen. In this last situation there are not only no six consciousnesses, but also no five aggregates; only the seventh and eighth consciousnesses remain, and these two consciousness-minds are formless and without marks. At this time the ordinary person's seventh consciousness is in a dazed state, anxiously searching for a new body of the five aggregates to serve as a support. Can a Buddha discover the seventh and eighth consciousnesses at this time? It is unknown. Without the eighth consciousness the seventh consciousness cannot exist alone; without the seventh consciousness the eighth consciousness cannot operate any dharma—it abides in a state of nirvāṇa, and even a Buddha cannot discover the eighth consciousness. Only when the two consciousnesses combine together and operate jointly can they be discovered by people, but ordinary people cannot discover them.
Then, in a situation without the five aggregates and the six consciousnesses, with only the seventh and eighth consciousnesses, can enlightenment occur? That depends on clarifying who awakens and to what. Awakening, of course, is the deluded mind awakening, awakening to the eighth consciousness. With no six consciousnesses and no five aggregates, the only deluded mind at this time is the seventh consciousness. Can the seventh consciousness awaken alone? Probably, apart from the Buddha having this ability, bodhisattvas of the eighth bhūmi and above might be able to awaken; for others it would be very difficult, and ordinary people absolutely cannot. Because the manas's power of discrimination is very low, without the assistance of the mind consciousness the manas by itself cannot clearly discern the six sense objects, let alone the extremely subtle eighth consciousness.
In the situation where only the seventh and eighth consciousnesses exist without the six consciousnesses and the five aggregates, the eighth consciousness merely sustains the existence of the seventh consciousness and cannot operate any dharma. Realizing the eighth consciousness must be done on the basis of the eighth consciousness's functioning; if the eighth consciousness does not function, the eighth consciousness cannot be realized—even a Buddha cannot realize the eighth consciousness while it abides in nirvāṇa. And in a body of the five aggregates without the six consciousnesses, with only the seventh and eighth consciousnesses, can the eighth consciousness be realized? Absolutely not.
Fourteen: The Deeper and More Thoroughly the Manas Deliberates, the Greater the Wisdom of Realization
As for those dharmas such as "the five aggregates are without self," the mind consciousness can roughly understand them just by thinking about them, but the manas cannot understand them; if the manas does not understand, it is of no avail and nothing can be changed. How does one infuse the manas so that it too understands and eradicates the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi)? One must cultivate meditative concentration well. When the mind consciousness has thought things through clearly in samādhi, suspend the meaning of the dharma in the manas, then remain without a single thought arising in samādhi, letting the manas deliberate. The more active the manas's deliberation, the better; the greater the impact upon it, the better. At a certain point, it can overturn the manas's entrenched views and confirm that the five aggregates are without self, and the view of self is eradicated.
If in samādhi one still relies on the mind consciousness to think, this shows, first, that the samādhi is shallow, and second, that the meaning of the dharma has not been transmitted to the manas; the manas has not been infused and cannot deliberate on the dharma meaning, so one has no choice but to rely on the mind consciousness's thinking. If the mind consciousness gives rise to no thoughts and the manas also does not deliberate, one can enter a withered samādhi, without the wisdom of contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), and the great wisdom of prajñā will not arise.
People without meditative concentration often feel that attaining realization is fast and easy—it relies on the mind consciousness's thinking and understanding, which is of course many times faster than the manas's deliberation. People with meditative concentration do not feel that attaining realization is fast and easy, because the manas's ignorance is heavy, it accepts the truth rather slowly, and deliberating on dharma meaning is also rather slow; therefore eradicating the manas's ignorance is extremely difficult.
Take recollection of the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti) as an example. Without meditative concentration, the mind consciousness can recite the Buddha's name loudly, in a loud voice; once a little Buddha-recollection samādhi appears, the sound of recitation becomes softer—the better the samādhi, the softer the sound. When samādhi is deep, one simply cannot recite aloud, and recites in the mind, reciting with the mind rather than with the mouth. When samādhi is even deeper, even the mind consciousness's mental recitation cannot proceed, and one enters samādhi; if the manas has been infused, it recites the Buddha with the manas. When the manas recites the Buddha, there is no mind consciousness's oral recitation or mental recitation, yet deep within, the mind is indeed mindful of the Buddha, thinking of the Buddha, not empty. Infusing Buddha-recollection into the manas is just like this. Therefore without meditative concentration, Buddhist practice simply cannot reach its proper place—it is like scratching an itch through a boot, solving nothing. That is why the Buddha taught that practice requires the full possession of precepts, samādhi, and wisdom; not one of the three great treasures can be lacking. Only by trusting the Buddha's words and honoring the Buddha's teachings can there be accomplishment.
Fifteen: The Sixth Patriarch's Awakening Was Direct Perception of the Eighth Consciousness
Whenever Great Vehicle bodhisattvas attain realization through investigating Chan, they have personally realized the eighth consciousness and can observe its functions and operations directly in the present, rather than inferring the existence and functions of the eighth consciousness by means of reasoning and deduction—reasoning and deduction are not personal realization. When the Sixth Patriarch heard the Fifth Patriarch expound the Diamond Sutra, he awakened, personally realized the suchness that is the eighth consciousness, and was immediately able to observe the eighth consciousness directly, whereupon he uttered the five exclamations of "how unforeseen is self-nature (svabhāva)." The other Chan patriarchs, at the time of their enlightenment, all personally realized the suchness that is the eighth consciousness; none relied on reasoning and deduction.
Only personal realization enables one to observe the eighth consciousness's functions through direct perception and obtain the great wisdom of prajñā. When the prajñā wisdom reaches fullness, one can directly observe the extremely many functions of the eighth consciousness, like observing an āmalaka fruit in one's palm—not imagining that there is an āmalaka fruit in one's hand, but seeing with one's eyes that the āmalaka fruit truly exists. Realizing the eighth consciousness is the same: it is not imagining and reasoning that there is an eighth consciousness and imagining what functions He performs, but being able to observe directly, in the present, the various operations of the eighth consciousness within the five aggregates and eighteen realms.
Reasoning and imagination are functions of the mind consciousness; personal realization involves the manas's personal realization. The manas's realization is a direct-perception presentation, seen in the very moment; there is no need, upon encountering some dharma, to strive to think about the eighth consciousness within that dharma. What is presently thought up is unreliable; when the mind consciousness ceases, thinking is impossible and the eighth consciousness is no longer seen. Especially after the end of life, when there is no mind consciousness, one can no longer think about the eighth consciousness; not seeing the existence of the eighth consciousness means one is an ordinary being, and one will take rebirth in an ordinary being's body, and a lifetime of cultivation will be wasted in vain—most regrettable. Therefore, whoever cannot immediately, right now, in the present, see the functions of the eighth consciousness, and who relies on reasoning to prove the existence of the eighth consciousness, has not attained realization-enlightenment.
Sixteen: The Difference Between Understanding and Realization
Understanding is the mind consciousness's understanding, while the manas does not understand or know; realization is when both know and both understand, neither being deluded. Regarding a dharma, when the mind consciousness understands it, one knows that it is so; when the manas realizes it, one knows why it is so. Knowing that it is so is knowing the surface phenomenon without knowing the interior—a relatively shallow and coarse knowing, lacking the power of observation; when asked about specifics, substance, and details, one is at a complete loss. Regarding the dharma one can only grasp something rough and coarse, unable to deeply and finely understand and observe more, deeper, and more concrete content. Therefore one cannot explain the dharma clearly, let alone thoroughly, giving people a vague feeling of scratching an itch through a boot.
Knowing why it is so is knowing the dharma's inner principles, penetrating surface and interior, knowing the dharma's substance and its whole ins and outs, with strong powers of observation, able to know the dharma's concrete details, with clear thinking, thorough reasoning, rigorous and meticulous logic, and powerful wisdom. Therefore, to gauge a person's level of cognizing the dharma, just see whether his description of the dharma stays at rough surface phenomena or can penetrate into concrete details. The more concrete, the deeper the degree of realization and the deeper the wisdom; the rougher, the less realization, the farther from realization, the shallower the wisdom—the more it is the mind consciousness's understanding, the less the manas's function is present.
Seventeen: The Difference Between Explaining the Principle and Realizing the Principle
When Patriarch Bodhidharma met Emperor Wu of Liang, why was he unwilling to save him, turning and leaving after hearing only a few words from him? When Emperor Wu sent soldiers to pursue him, Bodhidharma did not turn back; he would rather face the wall alone for nine years in a stone cave on Mount Song in Henan than come out to save people, still less save Emperor Wu. What kind of person was Emperor Wu of Liang? One can look him up online: he built monasteries, led people to leave home, made offerings to the Three Jewels, personally expounded the Diamond Sutra; when Layman Fu (Great Master Fu) ascended the hall to preach the Dharma, Emperor Wu crouched down, offering his back as a step for Great Master Fu to mount the lecture hall. Such a person, with deep merit and no shallow good roots—why would Bodhidharma not receive and guide him? Had Emperor Wu lived in the present era, he would have been "enlightened" eighteen or nineteen times over already; such indriya is rarely met in today's society, yet Bodhidharma simply looked down on him, unwilling even to guide him into saying a few more words—why on earth? During the nine years the patriarch faced the wall, he could have saved so many people yet just kept facing the wall alone—why on earth?
Emperor Wu's merit was indeed great; his protection of the Three Jewels was especially devoted, and his good roots could not be called shallow. But they were not deep enough, after all, for him to see the mind and become enlightened, to recognize the School upon a word. Therefore Bodhidharma had no way to teach him, bit by bit, the upward path; if the other person is not the right material for the Chan School, saying more is useless. The Chan gate saves those who wish for liberation from birth-and-death and whose causes and conditions are also complete. Those whose causes and conditions are not complete cannot be forcibly guided into awakening, otherwise it harms Buddhism and sentient beings.
Patriarchs who have truly attained the Way most detest those who can explain the principle but cannot practice it; those they seek are disciples who can truly realize the principle—suitable vessels for the Path. Therefore, seeing someone whose causes and conditions were not ripe, Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years to await the arrival of a disciple whose causes and conditions were ripe. Although Emperor Wu at that time could expound the Diamond Sutra for many sessions and serve as a lecture master, he was after all merely an explainer of the principle, still unable to realize it. Explaining the principle without having realized it, what one says is largely watered down, without real meaning. No amount of effort from Bodhidharma toward him would have been of use, because Emperor Wu was, after all, not yet a suitable vessel for the Path.
It was like Chan Master Deshan in the old days before his enlightenment: he had expounded the Diamond Sutra for who knows how many sessions and was called "Zhou Vajra." Carrying on his shoulders two loads of the Qinglong commentaries and subcommentaries, he rushed south to defeat the demons. But after being saved and awakened by Chan Master Longtan, he resolutely set fire to and burned up the two loads of commentaries, the fruit of many years of his heart's blood, muttering: "穷诸玄辩，若一毫置于太虚；竭世枢机，似一滴投于巨壑。" The meaning is that however much principle he had formerly expounded and however many doctrines he had debated, it was like a single hair thrown into the great void, having no weight at all; exhausting all his wisdom and talent was like a drop of water cast into a huge ravine, of no significance. Before true awakening, however many books one writes, they are all waste paper.
What is the difference between explaining the principle and realizing it? The explainer speaks with the mind consciousness; the realizer realizes with the manas. There is a saying in Patriarch Bodhidharma's Bloodline Treatise (Xuemai Lun): "若不见性，说得十二部经教，尽是魔说，是魔家眷属，不是佛家弟子，既不辨皂白，凭何免生死？" The meaning is that even if one can expound the twelve divisions of the Buddhist sutras, if one has not seen one's nature (become enlightened), it is the same as the demons' teaching.
The phenomenon of much explaining of the principle and little realizing of it is very common, especially now in the Dharma-ending age: everywhere there are explainers of the principle, and realizers of the principle are almost nowhere to be seen; explainers fill the sky and cover the land, which is very disheartening. As for those explainers, calling them "understanding-based awakening" is already elevating them several steps, yet they are even dissatisfied with the name "understanding-based awakening." Those with understanding-based awakening all have a process of genuine, actual practice; they simply have not reached the final level of realization—the final result has not been realized, only reasoned and imagined. But they do have meditative concentration, only not quite complete; they do have wisdom, only with more watered-down content; they have cultivated the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment, only not perfectly; they have cultivated the bodhisattva's six pāramitās, only not yet finished. Why is it that nowadays, when even the conditions for understanding-based awakening of the Dharma are not complete, there are still so many people claiming realization-enlightenment? Everyone may ponder the answer themselves.
Eighteen: Pratyekabuddhas with Deep Meditative Concentration All Personally Realized the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination
The Āgama sutras describe pratyekabuddhas deducing the twelve links of dependent origination in forward order and in reverse order. Although the language describing the pratyekabuddhas' investigation is rather concise and the introduced practice process rather simple, the pratyekabuddhas' cultivation was by no means easy; the intermediate process was winding and arduous. When actually engaging in contemplative practice and thinking, they were all within profound meditative concentration, the mind consciousness thinking on one side while the manas deliberated simultaneously, so of course the results were all personal realization. Without meditative concentration there is only the mind consciousness's thinking, without the manas's simultaneous deliberation, so realization is impossible; understanding is possible, but understanding is useless.
The pratyekabuddhas' concrete actual practice process the Buddha could not disclose in detail; the purpose was to let later people apply effort and realize it themselves. If the effort is not done properly, saying too much easily leads people to mere intellectual understanding, so it could only be stated that simply. Within those simple thinkings and dialogues, one must never think that the pratyekabuddhas arrived at a result by relying on the mind consciousness's reasoning and logical thinking—to say so would be to slander the pratyekabuddhas. The pratyekabuddhas' meditative concentration was extremely profound; the mind consciousness's function absolutely could not occupy the dominant position or overwhelm the manas; the manas's investigation and deliberation had to occupy the dominant position. The deeper a person's meditative concentration, the more the manas is used; conversely, the shallower the concentration, the more the mind consciousness is used, relying mainly on the mind consciousness's imagination, reasoning, and conjecture, unable to employ the manas.
By the same token, the arhats all had very deep meditative concentration. In observing the five aggregates of the past and future, they did not use the mind consciousness's reasoning, did not use inference or non-valid cognition, but all observed by direct perception, with the manas participating. Because those material bodies were exactly identical to the current body of the five aggregates, belonging to the same kind, by realizing the current one they knew the past and future ones. It is like a batch of products needing inspection now: because the products are all identical, sampling and inspecting just one tells one how all the products are—of course not counting cases where someone has mixed in other products. Given the guarantee of exact identity, inspecting one or a few suffices to know the whole. Therefore the arhats' realization was all realization by direct perception: what it is, it is; there was no imaginative mode of thinking, no comparative mode of thinking. For a person without meditative concentration, the mind consciousness's inferential and non-valid cognitive thinking is unavoidable, and the result is only understanding, unable to attain realization.
Nineteen: Without the Manas Realizing the Dharma, One Cannot Attain the Four Sagely Stages
In the trichiliocosm, is there any person whose manas carries ignorance, wrong knowledge, wrong understanding, and wrong grasping, who has become a Buddha? Is there any person whose manas carries the view of self and who has not seen the ultimate reality, the eighth consciousness, who has become a bodhisattva or even transformed consciousness into wisdom? Absolutely not.
A Buddha possesses the four wisdoms in perfect clarity. Which four wisdoms are perfectly clear? First, the mind consciousness is perfectly clear and ultimately transforms consciousness into wisdom; second, the manas is perfectly clear and ultimately transforms consciousness into wisdom; then the five consciousnesses are perfectly clear and transform consciousness into wisdom; finally, the eighth consciousness is perfectly clear and transforms consciousness into wisdom. When one cultivates to the first bhūmi as a bodhisattva, the mind consciousness for the first time transforms consciousness into wisdom, becoming the wonderful observing wisdom (pratyavekṣaṇā-jñāna), and the manas for the first time transforms consciousness into wisdom, becoming the wisdom of equality (samatā-jñāna). On what basis can the manas transform consciousness into wisdom? Precisely because it has eradicated the view of self, eradicated self-grasping, realized the true suchness mind, the ultimate reality of the dharmadhātu, broken through one portion of dharma-grasping, and possessed great wisdom, that it transforms consciousness into wisdom. Otherwise, on what basis would the manas transform consciousness into wisdom?
If one cultivates only the mind consciousness without reaching the manas, no dharma can be accomplished. It is like feeding only the servant to fullness while giving the master nothing to eat: when the master starves to death, the servants scatter and disperse. In war, if the staff officer—the mind consciousness—has read the map but the general—the manas—cannot see the map, the war cannot proceed, because the manas, not understanding the situation, cannot take charge and command the battle.
Can one learn Buddhism and become a Buddha with the mind consciousness fighting single-handedly while the manas carries all its ignorance, not even having eradicated the view of self? Birth-and-death in saṃsāra and the accomplishment of the Buddha path are not decided by the mind consciousness; liberation is not decided by the mind consciousness—all are decided by the manas, which plays the decisive role. At death, if the manas is full of ignorance, one will enter an ignorant womb, remaining an ignorant sentient being, unable to enter a noble womb. At the time of nirvāṇa, if the manas carries all its ignorance, the view of self complete, greedily clinging to the three realms, with the manas still having the ignorance of the three realms, nirvāṇa is impossible.
Some people always want the mind consciousness to be the master, the general, with all dharmas decided by the mind consciousness. This is impossible. If it were possible, we would all wish for it: with the mind consciousness in charge, learning Buddhism and practicing would be easy and pleasant, becoming a Buddha would not take several kalpas—faster than riding a rocket. The mind consciousness mulls things over, understands a bit, and once the state of the Buddha ground is understood, one becomes a Buddha. However, this is absolutely impossible. Therefore one must still diligently cultivate the manas, letting the manas understand the principle, break ignorance, and break attachment.
Twenty: The Mind Consciousness's Insights and Lamentations About the Dharma Are Not Yet Ultimate
A certain Buddhist practitioner reflected: "Think about the mind-consciousness self and the manas self—are they not merely a very illusory kind of existence? The powerful and truly real existence is only the true suchness mind; only the true suchness mind is the inconceivable truly permanent body, the body of wisdom. Knowing these things, do you still brood over the love, hate, passions, and grudges, the joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures, the gains and losses, successes and failures of this human world, minute as a mote of dust and false and unreal?"
The above reflections are also called insights, but despite having such insights, if one wants the body-mind world to undergo a fundamental turn and change, one must, on this basis, earnestly practice contemplation within meditative concentration; only after personal realization can one change the body-mind world and truly attain some degree of liberation. Thinking is within the mind consciousness's range of ability; realization relies on the manas, and the manas requires direct perception. Therefore merely thinking is of little use; one must also observe by direct perception and cognize by direct perception. Knowing that everything in the world is empty, all manifested illusorily by the tathāgatagarbha, is also not of much use; the next step of actual cultivation and realization is needed. Only when it is realized does the mind become empty and possess the power of liberation.
Some people, all day long thinking in their minds that the world is like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow, feel as if it really is a dream, illusion, bubble, and shadow. But when the matter comes to a head, things are just as they are, not in the slightest a dream, illusion, bubble, or shadow. Only when one truly realizes the dream, illusion, bubble, and shadow—at the stage of the ten dedications, close to becoming a first-bhūmi bodhisattva—can the mental conduct then change. But before actual contemplative practice, the theoretical knowledge and views must still be complete; the mind must have a semblance of emptiness and a certain degree of understanding of the theory. With this foundation, one can actually investigate and practice contemplation within meditative concentration, and realization has hope.
Twenty-One: Chan Master Huangbo Opposed Intellectual Understanding
Chan Master Huangbo said: "我此禅宗，从上相承以来，不曾教人求知解。只云学道，早是接引之词，然道亦不可学。情存学解，却成迷道……第一不得作知解。又云：古人心利，才闻一言，便乃绝学，所以唤作绝学无为闲道人。今时人只欲得多知多解，广求文义，唤作修行。不知多知多解，翻成壅塞。" (Essentials of the Transmission of the Mind by Huangbo)
Being given one green leaf and digging out a whole nest of sweet potatoes—that is realization-enlightenment. Asking others for a big pile of sweet potatoes while not seeing a single leaf—those are sweet potatoes dug up by others. And there are those who have collected a houseful of leaves yet, up to death, never discovered a single sweet potato—they have not even reached understanding-based awakening.
As for the methods and means of Buddhist cultivation and realization: the more ancient, the closer to the Buddha's original intent, the less watered down and dregs-laden, the less degraded, the more pure. People nowadays—their mind consciousness is simply clever beyond bounds, like a balloon filled with air: it can only be admired; whatever you do, do not touch it!
Twenty-Two: The Three Conditions for Entering the Path Taught by Patriarch Bodhidharma
Patriarch Bodhidharma taught the method of Chan practice: "外息诸缘，内心无喘，心如墙壁，可以入道。" The first three lines are the conditions and method; the last is the goal and result. Without the first three sufficient and necessary conditions, there is no latter result. Whoever's practice does not quite accord with the conditions for entering the path that Patriarch Bodhidharma described, differing considerably from the three conditions, must have mixed in the mind consciousness's emotional thinking and intellectual understanding; what is awakened will not be true, seeing the path will be skewed, like viewing flowers through fog, hazy and blurred; true wisdom will not manifest, and progress on the path will stagnate.
外息诸缘：when applying effort in investigating Chan, one must screen out all the conditions of the six sense-object realms outside the mind, the mind not attaching to the marks of the six sense objects, not being turned by the six sense-object realms. Seeing mountains as not mountains, seeing water as not water, not discriminating the marks of mountains and waters, the mind does not abide on mountains and waters, does not abide on worldly conditioned dharmas.
内心无喘：within, there should also be no various cravings and afflictions, no various thoughts and notions apart from investigating Chan, no emotional moods.
心如墙壁：in the process of investigating Chan, cultivate the mind to be calm and quiet, tight and sealed, airtight like a wall; external dust does not enter, the eight winds do not invade, inner scattered thoughts do not arise, no vexation or affliction, samādhi power like a mountain, all states unable to overthrow it.
In the process of investigation there is no language, writing, or sound, corresponding to the later stage of sustained examination (vicāra) in investigating Chan, like a cat stalking a mouse, quietly watching for the opportunity, moving when the moment comes, waiting for the object of investigation to appear, then seizing it in one grab—and one can enjoy the fruits of battle. This state of practice that Patriarch Bodhidharma described is not a purely thought-free state of meditative concentration, but a Chan-investigating state of the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā. The mind consciousness indeed has no thoughts in it, but the manas is deeply deliberating; the questioning doubt is thick, the deliberation heavy; thought after thought is doubt, thought after thought does not relax, thought after thought is the Path, without worldly thoughts, relentlessly pursuing the object of investigation, single-mindedly wanting to clarify the root of birth-and-death since beginningless kalpas.
Only when the effort reaches this point can one realize the path and enter the path; only then is it called the manas's personal realization. From then on, the posterior wisdom (pṛṣṭhalabdha-jñāna) and the wisdom of distinctions can gradually arise; one can observe directly the eighth consciousness operating within the body of the five aggregates, can observe directly the unconditioned nature and the conditioned nature of the eighth consciousness, rather than relying on imagination and reasoning. The seventh consciousness can then learn both the unconditioned mind-nature of the eighth consciousness and its conditioned mind-nature. If one relies on the mind consciousness's understanding, one can only imagine the unconditioned nature of the eighth consciousness, cannot observe directly how the eighth consciousness is specifically unconditioned, and cannot observe its conditioned nature; the wisdom of observation cannot appear.
Whoever enters the path through profound meditative concentration has had the manas personally investigate and personally realize—only then is it called personal realization; otherwise it is all mind-consciousness realization, and saying "personal realization" would be superfluous. The meditative concentrations capable of entering the path include preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi) and first-dhyāna concentration, and it must be a complete preparatory concentration; if the preparatory concentration is not complete, the awakening is shallow. With first dhyāna it is even better, and the awakening will be deep and thorough.
Twenty-Three: The Difference Between Investigating Chan and Logical Reasoning
(1) Investigating Chan is the practice method of seeing the mind and realization-enlightenment advocated by the Chan patriarchs of the past; through this method of investigating Chan one can realize the original mind, the self-nature, the eighth consciousness. Investigating Chan requires profound meditative concentration, the ability to apply effort from morning to night without interruption, the mind around the clock on investigating and seeking the Path, the mind refined and subtle. When causes and conditions mature, upon touching a condition or meeting a state, one can awaken at any time by oneself, or instantly awaken under a Chan master's zen repartee.
In the early stage, when the effort is not yet proficient, investigating Chan is called initial application (vitarka): the mind consciousness exerts relatively more force, thinking more and more overtly. As meditative concentration deepens and the effort matures, one enters the stage of sustained examination (vicāra): the mind consciousness can no longer apply effort, and the manas's deliberative function manifests. Only then can one apply effort from morning to night, awake or asleep, day and night, unified into one whole, doubting to the utmost depth, so that the mind becomes extremely keen; upon meeting a corresponding state, one attains realization-enlightenment and achieves meditative absorption (samādhi). If the concentration is a bit shallower, the effort cannot go deep, and the samādhi-and-wisdom state of realization-enlightenment cannot be initiated.
Logical reasoning and logical thinking, on the other hand, fall entirely on the mind consciousness; the effort is relatively shallow—having concentration is fine, lacking it is also acceptable. Even middle-school students can use logical thinking and reasoning to resolve questions in their studies; up to academic researchers at all levels, logical reasoning is universally used, and even those with concentration have rather shallow concentration. Logical thinking and reasoning correspond to the introductory stage before formal Chan investigation; after entering the gate, logical reasoning may no longer be used. Logical reasoning is a great taboo in the Chan school's investigation, opposed vehemently by all Chan patriarchs, who call it conjecturing within the mind, emotional thinking and intellectual understanding, and ghostly contrivances. Chan masters strictly forbid their disciples from conjecturing within the mind and opportunistic shortcuts, requiring them to investigate apart from mind, consciousness, and manas—that is, not allowing the mind consciousness's thinking, investigating Chan apart from all language, writing, and sound. Without meditative concentration this cannot be done.
When the mind consciousness has language and writing, the concentration is certainly very shallow or nonexistent. When concentration is deep, the mind consciousness cannot have coarse thinking activity; even subtle thinking activity automatically ceases, but this does not hinder the manas's deliberative activity. The Buddhas can even realize the path within the fourth dhyāna; for ordinary people the mind consciousness no longer has thinking in the second dhyāna, and in the third and fourth dhyānas the mind consciousness's thinking is even more extinguished, though the mind consciousness still exists without ceasing, still having an extremely deep and subtle knowing nature. Therefore relatively deep concentration can suppress the mind consciousness's thinking while stimulating the manas's deliberation. When the mind consciousness and manas exist together, their deliberative activities wax and wane against each other; if the mind consciousness's thinking is too active, it obstructs the manas's deliberation, and the manas cannot apply itself.
Logical thinking and reasoning both involve language and writing and cannot depart from them; they are all the mind consciousness's thinking activity, and the manas cannot exert force. Therefore the manas will not realize the final correct result. Because the manas has no language or writing, true investigating Chan and true investigation take the manas as the main agent. What the Chan patriarchs meant by "investigating apart from mind, consciousness, and manas" is not allowing coarse, shallow mind-consciousness thinking.
(2) Logical reasoning is inference (anumāna); direct perception is level and straight—right in the present moment, no further comparison and analysis needed. "Luo" (逻) and "tui" (推) both belong to comparison and analysis, and "ji" (辑) also belongs to comparison and analysis; the original meaning of the character 辑 is to arrange boxes of varying sizes and lengths properly on a cart, hence it requires analyzing and comparing the match between the cart body and the boxes.
In investigation and investigating Chan there is no language or writing. When the questioning doubt is at its thickest, one meets a condition, touches a state, and suddenly there is a corresponding sudden awakening—a slap on the thigh: "It's this one!"—and thus one finds one's birth mother. If one still uses logical reasoning, saying: "Ten years ago my mother was forty; ten years later my mother should be fifty; this person's age is about the same as my mother's, so she should be my mother"—the result is recognizing a stepmother. Regretting at the end of life, it is too late no matter what. Logical reasoning is all the mind consciousness's thinking activity; what the mind consciousness alone recognizes is always a stepmother; only what is recognized following the manas is the birth mother.
Whether or not the mind consciousness has concentration, it can always perform logical reasoning, and the result is understanding a principle. But attaining realization of the fruits and seeing the mind both require complete preparatory concentration (anāgamya-samādhi), so that one can investigate with single-minded devotion, and the result is sudden enlightenment. Logical reasoning does not require much meditative concentration—a brief focusing of the mind suffices; the concentration power required is very low. Therefore the wisdom of logical reasoning is inferior and weak, unable to attain the fruits or see the mind. When concentration is deep, the mind consciousness's thinking activity is restricted and cannot proceed normally; when the questioning doubt is very heavy, the mind consciousness's thinking activity also weakens. The better the concentration power, the weaker the mind consciousness's function and the stronger the manas's function, and the deeper and subtler the wisdom of direct perception.
Twenty-Four: Speaking Much About the Manas Is to Prevent the Chaos in Buddhism from Growing Ever Worse
Regarding the manas, for śrāvakas it suffices to simply understand that the manas is one of the six faculties and is the co-existent basis (sahabhū-āśraya) for the arising of the mind consciousness, and to know that the manas too is subject to arising, ceasing, and change—no need to understand much more. Great Vehicle bodhisattvas before seeing the mind likewise do not need to understand much about the manas, and in the initial stage right after seeing the mind, before passing the mirage contemplation, one also does not need to understand much about the manas.
It is only in the Dharma-ending age, especially at the present stage, that because sentient beings study with hearts eager for quick success and instant benefit, their minds restless and unsettled, lacking meditative concentration and unable to cultivate it, they often take the mind consciousness's understanding as awakening, or take the mind consciousness's understanding-based awakening as awakening—the future retribution is fearsome. Therefore in the present era one must speak much about the manas, to prevent the embarrassing phenomenon of taking understanding as awakening from multiplying, to prevent the phenomenon of "empty in words but not empty in mind" from growing ever worse, and the superficiality within Buddhism from growing ever worse. Once the Buddha-dharma degenerates, later generations will have nothing to rely upon. Speaking about the manas, letting everyone distinguish clearly between understanding-based awakening and realization-based awakening, is to relieve a burning emergency, to prevent the chaos in Buddhism from growing ever worse and prevent Buddhism from perishing prematurely—it is truly a last resort.
Quite a few people neither want to properly keep the precepts, fearing restraint, nor want to laboriously cultivate meditative concentration, being fond of ease and averse to work, unwilling to change their own mental nature and break through ignorance and afflictions; they only want to quickly obtain the final fruit and become a sage, basking in boundless glory—not knowing when pies have ever fallen from the sky. If there were such a good thing, would Śākyamuni Buddha and the Buddhas of the ten directions not let sentient beings know of it, and instead preach precepts, samādhi, and wisdom and the bodhisattva's six pāramitās, making sentient beings cultivate so laboriously? One wonders what they mean by it.
