The Difference Between the Manas and the Five Sense Faculties

The five sense faculties are only one condition for the arising of the five consciousnesses; the five sense faculties cannot determine whether the five consciousnesses arise and operate, or how they function. Because the five sense faculties are purely material form (rūpa), without the mental factors (caittas) of a conscious mind, they therefore lack any capacity for agency or decision-making.

The manas, however, is not only the faculty and condition that gives rise to the mind consciousness; it is also a conscious mind, possessing the attributes of a conscious mind and the mental factors of a conscious mind. Moreover, the manas is not a conscious mind on equal footing with the six consciousnesses—it has very special attributes. This specialness is mainly reflected in its nature of constant, sustained deliberation (manasikāra); that is to say, the manas always, continually, and constantly examines and deliberates upon all dharmas. Why does it examine and deliberate upon all dharmas? Because it has the authority, the responsibility, and the duty to manage all dharmas well.

The mind consciousness cannot do this. It must arise anew with each dharma; only after a dharma has already appeared does it arise, so it cannot be said to manage the dharmas. It can only offer suggestions regarding subsequent dharmas, devising strategies for the manas—and even then only with respect to some dharmas, not all dharmas, because the mind consciousness cannot correspond to all dharmas; it lacks that authority and simply has no way to do so. Therefore, the scope of the mind consciousness is far inferior to the scope of the manas—this is a matter of vision and of limited experience.