Honing the Manas Is the Ultimate

As the saying goes: You should sharpen your mind, not your teeth. What is the meaning behind this saying? What do the mind and the teeth each represent? What is the relationship between the two?

When worldly people speak, their teeth move, and language is produced. Language is a function of the mind consciousness, superficial and frivolous, and does not necessarily carry wisdom. The head and brain, however, are where thinking gives birth to wisdom; they represent a person's true wisdom—deep wisdom with insight. The manas resides there, directing body, speech, and mind, like a commander-in-chief. Once the commander-in-chief moves, the teeth and the entire army obey the order. Therefore, one should let the manas, this commander-in-chief, grow in wisdom—sharpen the manas and the head—and not spend one's energy on the teeth, which are like combat engineers. Dealing with things merely by glib talk is powerless and solves nothing.

Sharpening the manas is fundamental. Once the root is fully sharpened and perfected, all dharmas will become perfected. Merely coping with words and dealing with things through language cannot solve the fundamental problem; if the manas is not sharpened and refined, it is not ultimate. Therefore, possessing a wise mind is far, far better than possessing sharp teeth, abundant language, and glib eloquence. After all, it is the head that truly represents oneself; the teeth and language do not represent one's true wisdom. A person without a wise mind commits evil karma as soon as they open their mouth, and moreover is unaware of it; even when undergoing retribution, they do not know why, and there is no way to counteract it or save them.