Eradicating the Ignorance of the Manas Is True Attainment

Among the three thousand great thousand worlds, is it possible for anyone to become a Buddha with a manas that carries ignorance, carrying wrong knowledge, wrong understanding, and wrong grasping? Is it possible for anyone to become a bodhisattva—even to transform consciousness into wisdom—with a manas that carries the view of self and has not seen the eighth consciousness, the ultimate reality?

A Buddha is perfectly luminous with the four wisdoms. Which four wisdoms are perfectly realized? First, the mind consciousness becomes perfectly luminous and completely transforms consciousness into wisdom; second, the manas becomes perfectly luminous and completely transforms consciousness into wisdom; then the five sense consciousnesses become perfectly luminous and transform consciousness into wisdom; and finally, the eighth consciousness becomes perfectly luminous and transforms consciousness into wisdom.

When one cultivates to the stage of a first-bhūmi bodhisattva, the mind consciousness, for the first time, transforms consciousness into wisdom, becoming the wisdom of wonderful observation (pratyavekṣaṇa-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? It is precisely because the view of self has been eradicated, self-grasping has been eradicated, the true suchness mind—the ultimate reality of the dharmadhātu—has been realized, one portion of dharma-grasping has been broken through, and great wisdom has been attained, that consciousness is transformed into wisdom. Otherwise, on what basis could the manas transform consciousness into wisdom?

If one cultivates only the mind consciousness without reaching the manas, what can be accomplished? It is like feeding only the servant until full while giving the master no food—if the master starves to death, can there still be a servant? In a battle, if the staff officer studies the map but does not show it to the general, how is the war to be conducted, and who commands the battle?

Can one attain buddhahood through study and practice with the mind consciousness fighting single-handedly, while the manas carries all the ignorance and has not even eradicated the view of self? Would that be becoming an ignorant Buddha? When has birth and death in saṃsāra ever been decided by the mind consciousness, when has liberation ever been decided by the mind consciousness, while the manas, on the contrary, has no say? At the time of death, if the manas is still full of ignorance, into what kind of womb can it be reborn? Can it enter a noble womb? At the time of nirvāṇa, if the manas carries all the ignorance, is complete in the view of self, and greedily clings to the three realms, can nirvāṇa be attained? Could it be that the manas is still in the three realms, and once the six consciousnesses cease, nirvāṇa is attained?

Some people always want the mind consciousness to be the master, the general, with all dharmas decided by the mind consciousness. Is this possible? If it were possible, we would all wish for it: with the mind consciousness in charge, studying Buddhism and cultivating the path would be easy and pleasant, and attaining buddhahood would take no more than a few kalpas—faster than riding a rocket. The mind consciousness would just ponder and understand a bit, and once it thoroughly understood at the buddha stage, one would become a Buddha. However, this is absolutely impossible. Therefore, one must still diligently cultivate the manas, enabling the manas to understand the principles, break through ignorance, and break through attachments.