Why the Shock to the Mind Is Sufficient to Counteract the Habitual Tendencies of the Manas

Because the shock to the mind directly shakes the manas, only then does the manas have no choice but to change its own habits. Only when the manas comes into contact with what is real and directly perceived does it feel shaken; the mind consciousness does not feel shaken, for the mind consciousness easily comes to know things, but rather superficially. The shaking and shocking spoken of here are both directed at the manas; only when the manas knows the facts can it change itself.

When the mind consciousness feels shaken, it is mainly because the manas has been shaken that the manas makes a decision—either changing itself or confirming certain dharmas. Normally, no matter how others try to frighten you, it is of no use, because the manas has not been shaken. But once one day the manas comes to know the seriousness of a matter, it receives the shock and decides that it must change itself, that it must act in such and such a way.

How many people say "no-self, no-self" with their mouths every day, yet when it comes to actually doing things, it is all "me, me, me." Why? Because the manas does not know no-self. Only when one day the manas becomes certain that there truly is no self—that is what can be called a shock! From then on, one changes oneself, and both body and mind undergo transformation.