When Is Manas Most Easily Permeated?

In dreams, there cannot be only the manas (mental faculty) without consciousness; otherwise, one would not even know they are dreaming. The awareness of being in a dream belongs to consciousness, as the mind capable of thinking and being perceived is the conscious mind. The deliberative nature of the manas is generally unobservable by ordinary people's consciousness.

Realizing the existence of the manas is relatively easy, but observing its functioning is extremely difficult—even more challenging than observing the tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature). Consciousness and the manas are so deeply intertwined that separating them proves immensely difficult. Countless individuals can only observe consciousness but fail to perceive the manas. When teachings about the manas are presented, such people mistakenly attribute them to consciousness alone, revealing a profound lack of wisdom.

Why is it easier to discover the manas, influence it, resonate with it, and observe it during the moments just before falling asleep or waking up? This is because, during these times, the discriminative function of consciousness weakens and manifests less, thereby removing its obscuration over the manas.

In the middle of the night when one is asleep, playing recordings is still effective because the manas does not sleep. The tathāgatagarbha continuously transmits sound objects through the ear faculty to the subtle sense faculty (indriya), and the manas can perceive them all, albeit with less clarity in discrimination. If the sound becomes too loud, consciousness will awaken to distinguish and interpret the noise.