The Mind Faculty and Consciousness
Chapter 1: The Difference Between the Manas and the Mind Consciousness (2)
Sixteen. The Buddha said: "Take heed not to believe your mind; your mind is not to be believed." Only upon attaining the fruit of an arhat can one trust one's own mind.
Belief is divided into deep belief and shallow belief, genuine belief and false belief. Deep belief and genuine belief refer to belief deep within the manas; shallow belief and false belief refer to superficial belief at the level of the mind consciousness, where the mind consciousness deliberately feigns belief while the manas does not actually believe. "Mind" here refers to two things: one is the views, opinions, perspectives, and propositions deep within the manas; the other is the views, opinions, perspectives, and propositions of the mind consciousness.
Believing one's own mind has distinctions at different levels: 1. The mind consciousness believes the views, opinions, perspectives, and propositions of the manas. 2. The manas believes the views, opinions, perspectives, and propositions of the mind consciousness. 3. The mind consciousness believes its own views, opinions, perspectives, and propositions. 4. The manas believes its own views, opinions, perspectives, and propositions. This is the self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana) function of the manas. In addition, there are many other situations, such as: when the mind consciousness believes, the manas does not; when the manas believes, the mind consciousness does not, and so on.
Because the manas has deeply rooted ignorance and defilement, deeply rooted view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi) and wrong view/false view (mithyā-dṛṣṭi), with beginningless ignorance innate from birth and impossible to reverse; yet because of ignorance, sentient beings' manas deeply believes its own wrong views and refuses to be transformed, so that life after life it leads the mind consciousness to hold wrong views, creating ignorant and defiled karma, with birth-and-death in saṃsāra continuing without end. In order to deliver such sentient beings, the World-Honored One, to make them turn the light around and reflect on their own ignorance and afflictions, admonished sentient beings not to believe their own ingrained views; only after cultivating and realizing the fourth fruit of arhatship, having completely eradicated the view of self and self-grasping, when the mind attains purity (viśuddha) and wisdom brings liberation, can they trust their own views and opinions. Before that, due to the obstruction of afflictions, insufficient wisdom, and incorrect views, if one believes one's own views without doubt, one cannot escape the pit of ignorance and attain liberation from birth and death.
Seventeen. Because the manas has the imputed nature (parikalpita-svabhāva) of grasping at everything, and also has its own unique deliberative nature (manasikāra), when the mind consciousness is not active, the manas may still be continuously deliberating on its own, continuously grasping and refusing to let go. At a certain point, the mind consciousness may suddenly understand something or some principle, or suddenly recall certain people, things, or events—this is the result of the manas's grasping and deliberation. For example, upon encountering a certain problem, the mind consciousness gives up without thinking it through, or may stop thinking about it; yet at some unknown moment, the mind consciousness suddenly understands—so that's how it is. Whose function is this? It is the function of the manas. It has been quietly deliberating behind the scenes and did not give up together with the mind consciousness; finally it deliberated out a result, and the mind consciousness understood.
Another example: sometimes events from many years ago, which the mind consciousness no longer thinks about at all and has long forgotten, are suddenly recalled by the mind consciousness at some instant. The mind consciousness never deliberated on them, never dwelt on them—how did they come to mind? It turns out the manas had been constantly cognizing this matter all along, and upon encountering a condition, it threw this information to the mind consciousness for discernment; it was the manas quietly grasping it out from behind. Also, during sitting meditation, when the mind consciousness quiets down, hardly deliberating, with no thoughts arising, it can suddenly recall unimportant things from childhood. Who produced this? It was the manas grasping and cognizing it out.
Because the manas has not subdued its own mind, it still cognizes everywhere and applies attention (manaskāra) without rest, not understanding the principle that all dharmas are illusory; it grasps at and clings to every dharma, so the six consciousnesses become very chaotic and untranquil, and bodily, verbal, and mental actions are not pure. Only by constantly permeating the manas with the principle that all dharmas are illusory can the manas gradually eliminate its imputed nature (parikalpita-svabhāva) and reduce its cognition and attention; then bodily, verbal, and mental actions become pure. When studying Buddhism and contemplating and practicing the Dharma (vipaśyanā-caryā), one must penetrate deep into the manas, make full use of the manas's advantages, give full play to the manas's functions, and penetrate deeply into the manas; then all Buddhist teachings can be quickly realized, and great wisdom can be attained.
Eighteen. Those who do not believe in Buddhism also shout "no-self" along with others, as if they truly knew no-self, but in fact they understand nothing at all. That mind consciousness appears especially false and very unreal; in fact, in their minds, everywhere and at all times there is "self." Such people say one thing with their mouths and mean another in their hearts; their words and hearts do not match, and the mind consciousness and the manas are seriously inconsistent.
"Words and heart not matching, mouth saying yes while heart saying no": verbal karma is the function of the mind consciousness; "heart" refers to the manas. Sometimes the mind consciousness and the manas are inconsistent: the mind consciousness is the superficial surface function, while the manas is the deep-level psychological function. The mouth says yes, but the heart does not consider it yes—the mind consciousness is the superficial verbal action, while the manas is the deep-level mental action. So by observing whether a person is perfunctory or sincere, one can know whether that person's speech stays at the surface level of the mind consciousness or comes from the deep-level manas. The combinations of Chinese words and phrases also reflect psychology; they are quite reasonable and also accord with Buddhist principles.
Nineteen. Question: As the saying goes, "one mind cannot attend to two things"—this refers to the mind consciousness, which cannot simultaneously think about or carry out two things. But the manas pervasively cognizes all dharmas, or before it has finished cognizing one dharma, it cognizes another; because the interval is measured in kṣaṇas (instants), the time is too short; it can also be understood as cognizing multiple dharmas simultaneously. Within this, is it a good opportunity to distinguish between the mind consciousness and the manas?
Answer: The worldly saying "one mind cannot attend to two things" means that if one mind is used for two or more purposes, the use is not good—energy is scattered, the mind becomes coarse, discernment is not fine or clear, thinking is unclear, and wisdom cannot emerge. In fact, the mind consciousness and the six consciousnesses can attend to two, three, or many things at once; because ordinary people's meditative concentration (samādhi) is very poor and their power of wisdom (prajñā-bala) is also very poor, when energy is slightly scattered, discernment of the six sense objects becomes unclear, consideration of problems is not meticulous or thorough, manifesting as carelessness, sloppiness, confusion, not knowing why things are so—wisdom is rather inferior.
When the mind consciousness has not been trained in meditative concentration, in order to deliberate and consider something well, it must think with single-minded focus; otherwise it cannot consider things clearly. When the mind consciousness has been trained and its concentration is good, it can use one mind for many purposes, cognizing several dharmas simultaneously, and sometimes can do so well; when concentration is very good, it can use one mind for many purposes at all times. For example, the worldly saying "eyes observing six directions, ears listening to eight winds" is like this—only one cannot deliberate too finely, but overall things can be arranged well. For instance, some people, when a major event looms, often appear very calm; at such times all their energy and abilities are mobilized and brought into play, various matters are considered and arranged very thoroughly, the brain spins at high speed, and the working speed is astonishing. Worldly people at work are sometimes like this too; each person's energy and abilities differ greatly, so concentration and wisdom differ.
The manas can simultaneously cognize many dharmas, and can also cognize multiple dharmas continuously, instant after instant, without interruption. If it cognizes dharmas among the six sense objects, the mind consciousness will inevitably discern along with it, so the mind consciousness can also cognize multiple dharmas. To distinguish the mind consciousness from the manas, it is easier to distinguish them in terms of the capacity to be the master and make decisions; they are easy to distinguish in terms of habitual tendencies and inertial functions; when things happen suddenly, the functions of the mind consciousness and the manas are easy to distinguish; and in terms of superficial psychological functions versus deep-level psychological functions, the mind consciousness and the manas are relatively easy to distinguish.
Twenty. Matters of resonance are still matters of the manas. The manas, together with the tathāgatagarbha, knows everything; it is only that the mind consciousness does not know. When the manas knows certain special things, there are reactions in the physical body or emotions: hair standing on end all over the body, inexplicable joy, inner restlessness and anxiety, inner trepidation, solemn expression, and so on. All the secret things people do can be hidden from the mind consciousness but not from the manas and the tathāgatagarbha; therefore there will be karmic retribution in the future. The unconscious distancing and unconscious closeness between people are due to certain things the mind consciousness does not know. Therefore we must be good at guarding and restraining our own minds, not committing even the slightest fault; when the mind-ground is pure and karmic seeds are pure, karmic retribution will be pure.
Twenty-one. When the manas acts as the master, it must also, on the one hand, heed the mind consciousness's analysis, judgment, and decisions, and then deliberate and choose, act as master and make decisions, directing the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses. For example, when afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion manifest, the mind consciousness can rationally think: "Such afflictions are very bad; a practitioner should not have afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion; quickly calm down and subdue oneself." This thought is transmitted to the manas, and the manas will deliberate: "Indeed it is bad; then let us not have such mental actions anymore," and thus there is some restraint in bodily, verbal, and mental actions.
The one that initiates thinking, analysis, and judgment is the mind consciousness. The mind consciousness has the power of introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala) and can introspect its own afflictions; the manas finds it very difficult to introspect its own mental actions, so it must rely on the mind consciousness's rationality to hint at and urge itself, and then carefully act as master and make decisions. The manas is also produced from consciousness-seeds delivered by the eighth consciousness; it cannot determine its own existence, cannot be self-governing, and therefore has no self-nature (svabhāva).
After the mind consciousness studies Buddhism and understands the principles, it then permeates the manas; when the manas is permeated, it will decide to change itself. The sixth consciousness and the seventh consciousness, although both are consciousnesses, face the same inner mental sense-objects (inner dharma-viṣaya), yet their natures have many differences. If one deliberates carefully on the differences between the two, one can gradually distinguish them and no longer confuse them.
Twenty-two. Some people say: whatever suggestion you give the manas, the manas will realize it, whether positive or negative; the manas has no moral cognition, no sense of right and wrong, only inertial habits. The mind consciousness has moral constraints, a sense of shame, and a sense of responsibility; all of these the manas does not possess and cannot possess. The manas is a direct mind; it has accumulated traces of all actions performed over beginningless kalpas, and whenever the occasion arises, it implements them, without any value constraints of right or wrong, high or low, responsibility, honor, loss, or gain. Instinct, intuition, spontaneity, and so on are all natures of the manas; it does not conceal or adorn itself, has no insincerity, and has no utilitarian elements. All of this is said correctly.
The manas is mainly neutral/indeterminate (avyākṛta) in nature; it does not know concepts of good and evil and has no capacity for judgment of right and wrong; from this point of view, its discerning wisdom is inferior. The manas belongs to the most primordial kind; the primordial is also simple, also foolish, also straightforward, also unsophisticated, also deep, also wise, also clever—it depends on what it has been permeated with in the past and present, and whether such permeation has been brought to completion.
The mind consciousness is cunning, intelligent and wise, its mind not straightforward; but it can also be upright, pure and flawless, and candid—this also depends on what it has been permeated with in the past and present. The mind consciousness can be both good and evil; when evil, it may be more evil than the manas and can instigate the manas; when good, it is more good than the manas and can guide the manas. When the mind consciousness is foolish, it may be more foolish than the manas; when wise, it is far wiser than the manas.
The mind consciousness is rather scheming, because it has the ability to think, analyze, and devise stratagems. If others want to probe one's private matters, the mind consciousness, when alert, will absolutely conceal them; when the mind consciousness is not alert, the manas cannot be instigated by the mind consciousness, and whatever there is will be revealed without concealment, because it cannot judge good and evil, benefit and harm, has no value orientation, and is rather genuine and pure.
Twenty-three. Although all dharmas are remotely controlled by the manas, their manifestation and transformation are governed by the tathāgatagarbha. No matter how the remote control directs, ultimately it is the screen that displays. Which consciousness to bring forth is the function of the tathāgatagarbha, not the function of the manas's mental factor of deliberation (cetanā). The manas only needs to decide to see, hear, taste, or touch. If it wants to see form, the tathāgatagarbha automatically cooperates, producing eye consciousness and mind consciousness on that material sense-object; when the manas does not want to look, it shifts attention, does not apply attention, does not choose, and the consciousness-seeds disappear on that material form, or are not produced on that material form—this is the tathāgatagarbha's inherent function, the way it naturally is (dharmatā).
As for why, when the tathāgatagarbha projects consciousness-seeds, they separately form the seven consciousnesses—this is still an enormous secret. The mind consciousness can specifically discriminate names, marks, and concepts; the manas has no names or concepts. It is like the tathāgatagarbha: although the tathāgatagarbha can transform and manifest different six sense objects, it also cannot distinguish form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma; it has no names and does not understand concepts. The manas is probably the same: it only knows to correspond to sense objects, but does not specifically know the concepts of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma, and cannot categorize them. It is like a robot that can do many things, but it also cannot distinguish exactly what it has done or why it does it; it just works according to fixed programs.
A robot's program is designed by humans, but no one designed the tathāgatagarbha's operating program and principles, and no one designed the operating principles of the seven consciousnesses either; it has been this way since beginningless kalpas—this is called "the way it naturally is" (dharmatā). But the "naturally so" and operating rules of the seven consciousnesses can change to some extent with cultivation, while the tathāgatagarbha's "naturally so" cannot be changed. Although the functions of the tathāgatagarbha after buddhahood differ somewhat from the tathāgatagarbha of sentient beings, that is merely the restoration of the original face.
On all dharmas there is not only the operation of buddha-nature but also the operation of the tathāgatagarbha's substance itself. Because the tathāgatagarbha has the five universally present mental factors—attention (manaskāra), contact (sparśa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), and volition (cetanā)—it has the capacity for recognition and its own unique functions. Although the tathāgatagarbha has the capacity for recognition, it has no mind and cannot recognize specific contents; it will not discriminate the six sense objects into form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma, unlike the discriminating nature of the six consciousnesses. Human language can hardly express these contents; they can only be intuited, not conveyed in words accurately and in detail. The manas's discerning nature lies between the tathāgatagarbha and the six consciousnesses: more specific than the tathāgatagarbha, more general than the six consciousnesses.
Twenty-four. The manas can be the master over everything, but in many cases it must also heed the views and opinions of the mind consciousness, so the mind consciousness can sometimes persuade and guide the manas. Through analysis, thinking, and other mental activities, the mind consciousness transmits the results of its analysis to the manas; after the manas knows, it must deliberate on how to handle it and what method to adopt, then make a decision, and the six consciousnesses must obey the decision.
"Rationality" usually refers to the mind consciousness, because the mind consciousness can discern the specific six sense objects, can analyze and think about them, and thereby make reasonable judgments and choices. Reactions made impulsively without going through the mind consciousness's deliberation are the manas. Responding immediately without analytical deliberation in the head is all the impulsive and inertial function of the manas. When the mind consciousness has foolishness, it often cannot, or is not accustomed to, thinking and analyzing, and lets the manas directly make decisions; those are made according to the manas's habitual tendencies and are often mistaken and afflicted. Later, when the mind consciousness awakens and thinks that doing so may be wrong, it transmits the process and results of its analysis to the manas; after the manas knows, it deliberates anew on how best to act. Sometimes, when things are too urgent and the mind consciousness has no time to think, the manas reacts directly according to its own inertia and experience, such as emergency measures like suddenly braking, withdrawing the hand when bitten or burned, suddenly flinging the hand away, and so on.
Twenty-five. The meaning of manifesting-object designation (vijñapti-abhidhāna) is that the seven consciousnesses and their mental factors can jointly set off and manifest various states so that others can understand and comprehend them. All seven consciousnesses have this function; it is not only the manas that has it. Meaning-expressing designation (artha-abhidhāna) uses words, terms, and sentences to express the inner thoughts and states so that others can understand and comprehend them. This is a function possessed by the mind consciousness; the manas does not have it, nor do the five sense consciousnesses.
Meaning-expressing designation is divided into language and writing, and initial application and sustained examination (vitarka-vicāra) and deliberation. Initial application and sustained examination and deliberation are also characteristics of the mind consciousness: the mind consciousness can discern the six sense objects, and afterward can apply initial application and sustained examination and deliberate upon them. The manas does not have this kind of surface-level function; its function is hidden, profound, covert, and hard to detect, yet its effect is considerable. If the consciousness-seeds of the two consciousnesses are less divided and less discriminating of other mental sense-objects, then their discerning wisdom can become even more powerful, and their force of effect is also considerable, able to overcome all dharmas. When the power of meditative concentration strengthens, the manifesting-object designation function of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses becomes prominent, the manas's role stands out and is fully utilized and exercised, and its discerning function becomes even more powerful; it may be able to think through all dharmas thoroughly, with wisdom welling forth.
Twenty-six. From any aspect and any angle, the manas is the false self upon which sentient beings truly rely, the primary self; moreover, this self has always taken the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) body as self, taken the functions of the six consciousnesses as self, and taken the functions of the eighth consciousness as self, believing that all meritorious functions are its own meritorious functions, and that the functions of all dharmas are its own functions.
The mind consciousness is also a false self, with obvious functions of seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing. Sentient beings take the mind consciousness's seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing as primary, and the mind consciousness's actions and activities as primary; when the mind consciousness has no seeing, hearing, awareness, or knowing, they say "I have no seeing, hearing, awareness, or knowing"; when the mind consciousness has no actions or activities, they say "I cannot speak or think." This sentient being is the manas: it relies on the mind consciousness's seeing, hearing, awareness, knowing, and activities to achieve its own aims and wishes. When there is no mind consciousness and no activities of the mind consciousness, the manas cannot accomplish anything among the six sense objects, and the surface functions of the five-aggregate body also disappear. This is something the manas is unwilling to accept, so when cultivating meditative concentration to make the six consciousnesses act less or not act at all, the manas at first cannot bear it, and cultivating concentration is very difficult—the manas always struggles in resistance.
From another perspective, the mind consciousness's seeing, hearing, awareness, knowing, and activities are all the result of the manas's direction and leadership. The two consciousnesses cooperate with each other, one in the open and one in the dark; almost everyone takes all these activities to be the mind consciousness's activities alone, observing not the slightest hidden function of the manas, burying the manas's merits, not knowing that the manas is the master of these activities, not knowing that the manas is the true master, the true false self of sentient beings. Solving the problem of the manas can solve all problems.
Twenty-seven. In fact, many people can observe their own manas; they just do not know that that mind, that function, is the manas. Because they cannot distinguish the mind consciousness from the manas, they mix the mind consciousness and the manas into one whole "self," becoming as if they were observing their own mind's various conditions themselves.
For example, when the mind consciousness observes its own abilities and feelings, within them there are the abilities and feelings of the mind consciousness as well as those of the manas, yet all are taken as the abilities and feelings of the mind consciousness. Another example: the mind consciousness observes whether it can accept a certain viewpoint or opinion; after observing, it finds that it very much wants to accept and is willing to accept, yet inwardly it still cannot accept. The willingness to accept is the mind consciousness; the inability to accept is the manas—yet one does not know it is the manas that is unwilling, and instead thinks it is the so-called self that is unwilling. If the mind consciousness discovers that it has changed its cognition and views and is willing to accept a certain suggestion, it is the manas that has changed the views and cognition, while the mind consciousness still thinks it is the so-called self, not knowing it is the manas.
There are very many such examples, showing that the mind consciousness can observe the manas; it is just that the mind consciousness and the manas cannot be distinguished and are often mixed together. If one says that among them there is the manas's function, most people will object\: "No, that is the mind consciousness." This precisely shows that most people have confused the manas with the mind consciousness, unable to tell which is which—because afflictions obstruct, wisdom is insufficient, and they have not transformed consciousness into wisdom (āśraya-parāvṛtti).
Twenty-eight. The dream-maker is the tathāgatagarbha; it creates dreams according to the manas's thoughts, mental states, and ideas. After the dream is created, the manas becomes lost within the dream, not knowing it is in a dream, still very much grasping at and craving the states within the dream, misleading the mind consciousness to act within the dream. The mind consciousness also cannot distinguish inside the dream from outside, and so generates feelings of joy or sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress (śoka-parideva-duḥkha-daurmanasyopāyāsa) toward the dream state, taking the states as real. The manas holds many secrets, all obtained from the tathāgatagarbha; the mind consciousness knows only an extremely small part, perhaps not at all—therefore it is said that the manas has secrets.
The manas manages the tathāgatagarbha's storehouse and guards the tathāgatagarbha; the mind consciousness manages the manas's storehouse and guards the manas. The one guarded has treasures; the one guarding enjoys the treasures. The one guarded is the master, with great function; the one guarding is the servant, living off the master.
Twenty-nine. When words and heart do not match, which consciousness does the spoken word correspond to, and which does the thought correspond to?
In daily life, we often encounter situations of saying one thing and meaning another, words and heart not matching—for example, inwardly hating someone, while the verbal and bodily actions displayed are compassion and care, concealing the true inner thoughts. Then, is this true inner thought a mental action of the mind consciousness or of the manas? We ordinary people can introspect this situation: what can be introspected should belong to the mind consciousness; the true inner mind corresponds to the manas and should belong to the manas. But the manas is the master-making consciousness; the verbal and bodily actions displayed are the result of the six consciousnesses complying with the manas, so this compassion and care should also be the mental action of the manas. Yet the so-called true inner thought we introspect—hatred of someone—is displayed as compassion and care, and is not the true inner thought. Where exactly does the problem lie?
When the mental actions of the mind consciousness and the manas are inconsistent, if the mind consciousness's power is strong enough to overpower the manas, the manas has no choice but to comply with the mind consciousness's intentions, allowing the mind consciousness to speak and express itself according to its own ideas; but when doing things, the manas still acts according to its own original intent. In this way, the mind consciousness's behavior represents only itself, not the manas. What is not the manas's intent is fakery, words and heart not matching—this is what the world calls "not speaking while touching one's own heart": the mind consciousness does not speak or take positions according to the manas's original intent. At such times, clearly the heart is hating, but the mind consciousness is unwilling to display the hateful mentality for others to know, because if others knew, they would consider one bad and lacking virtue. So, in order to show that it has virtue, the mind consciousness displays an appearance of being very compassionate and caring toward people, in order to make others have a good impression and good evaluation of oneself.
When pretending, it is entirely the mind consciousness's disguise. The mind consciousness can devise schemes or intrigues and force the manas to agree; when the manas has no better idea, it also obeys the mind consciousness's arrangement. Once the mind consciousness relaxes its vigilance and no longer watches over the manas, the manas will act according to its true thoughts—then the true form is revealed. Only the mental actions without the mind consciousness's disguise are each person's true virtue and cultivation; at such times, whether the manas has cultivation can be seen.
The mind consciousness can exert a certain influence on the manas. If the mind consciousness's ideas and thoughts accord with the manas's mental actions, the manas will fully agree and can very quickly make the final decision without hesitation. If the mind consciousness does not accord with the manas's mental actions, the manas must consider and deliberate before making a decision; if the mind consciousness's analytical power is especially strong and its persuasiveness strong, the manas, though not quite approving, will reluctantly agree; if the manas's position is very firm, then the mind consciousness cannot make the manas comply and agree; if the manas is very stubborn, the mind consciousness also cannot persuade the manas.
If the manas is not controlled by the mind consciousness and acts entirely according to its own mental actions, this person will be very unrestrained, very naive, very simple and honest, very willful, very stubborn, displaying entirely his true colors—good is good, bad is bad, with a strong personality. If there is regulation by the mind consciousness, then the manas cannot fully display its true colors and must disguise itself to varying degrees, especially in front of people, in front of people with whom one has interests at stake—one must certainly put on a disguise. This is because the manas is not yet good enough that disguise is needed; when there are people and matters one cares about, one cannot act spontaneously according to one's nature.
If a person's basic nature is habitual lying with lies upon lies, it shows that the manas's essence is very bad; if the mind consciousness does not regulate it, it can never change. If the manas has no habit of lying and does not like to lie, but sometimes the mind consciousness insists on lying to cover up certain facts, this is disguise—the mind consciousness giving wrong guidance to the manas.
Thirty. Which one is the mind that feels remorse and self-blame?
When getting up in the morning, one mind wants to get up and one mind does not want to get up; the result is not getting up, and an important matter is delayed; then one becomes angry, remorseful, and self-blaming. Which mind wanted to get up? Which mind did not want to get up? Who is remorseful, who is self-blaming, who is angry?
The mind consciousness has rationality; the manas has no rationality and is greedier than the mind consciousness—greedy for flavor and greedy for feeling. After waking in the morning, the mind consciousness, being rational, feels one should get up, tidy up early, and go out to attend to matters. But the manas, because it craves flavor, appears rather lazy, does not decide to get up, and clings to comfortable feelings. Because the manas is the master-making consciousness, not wanting to get up means continuing to lie there. Finally, the mind consciousness's rationality grows stronger and stronger, constantly hinting to the manas that it should get up; finally the manas understands that it must get up and prepare and can no longer cling, and so has no choice but to decide to get up and dress. The tathāgatagarbha carries out this decision, and the six consciousnesses cooperate to get up. From this example, it can be seen that the manas has feeling, and not necessarily neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā).
Because getting up late delayed matters, the one who is at first angry, remorseful, and self-blaming must be the mind consciousness, because the mind consciousness's deliberative ability is strong and it knows what matter was delayed and how important it was. After the mind consciousness's remorse and self-blame, the manas also comes to know its own fault and may also regret and blame itself. If the manas does not regret or blame itself, and only the mind consciousness alone regrets, the manas will not change and will make the same mistake next time, likewise lingering in bed and not getting up.
Many people err, repent, and blame themselves, but afterward still err again—that is the mind consciousness repenting and blaming itself while the manas does not repent; the mistake will be repeated over and over, without learning the lesson. Erring and then correcting, then erring again after correcting—that is the mind consciousness; no longer easily making mistakes thereafter—that is the manas having learned the lesson. "The flesh changes but the bones do not change" shows that it is a surface change of the mind consciousness, while the manas does not change and does not admit fault.
When the mind consciousness understands some principle and wants to accomplish it, it cannot be the master; it must persuade the manas to agree with its idea, or force the manas to agree; when the manas agrees, it decides, and then it is accomplished. If the manas reluctantly agrees while still being unwilling in its heart, the same thing may not be accomplished next time. If the manas has not understood the principles and is frequently forced by the mind consciousness, the manas will harbor resentment in its heart; the resentment will sooner or later burst out, and if it does not burst out, the mind will be deeply depressed. When the mind consciousness has not persuaded the manas, once supervision is relaxed, the manas's original habitual tendencies manifest. Therefore, the mind consciousness's fakery cannot last long; there will always be a time when it is exposed.
