Which Consciousness Corresponds to Speech and Mind When They Diverge?

In daily life, we often encounter situations where words contradict thoughts, and the heart differs from speech. For instance, one may harbor resentment towards person A internally, yet display verbal and bodily actions of compassion and care externally, concealing one's true inner thoughts. So, is this true inner thought a mental formation of the consciousness or a mental formation of the manas (the mental faculty)? When we ordinary people introspect and perceive such a state, it should belong to the consciousness. The true inner heart corresponds to the manas and should belong to the manas. However, the manas is the sovereign consciousness, and the manifested verbal and bodily actions are the result of the six consciousnesses following the manas. Therefore, this compassion and care should also be a mental formation of the manas. Yet, the so-called true inner thought we introspect—resentment towards person A—manifests as compassion and care, which is not the true inner thought. Where exactly does the problem lie?

When the mental formations of consciousness and manas are inconsistent, if the power of consciousness is strong enough to overpower the manas, the manas is compelled to submit to the mind of consciousness, allowing consciousness to speak and express itself according to its own ideas. However, when the manas acts, it still follows its own original intent. Thus, the actions of consciousness represent only itself and not the manas. This is not the manas intending to be deceitful or to have a discrepancy between heart and speech. As commonly said, it’s like not speaking from the heart—consciousness does not speak or express according to the original intent of the manas. In such a case, although the heart harbors resentment, consciousness is unwilling to reveal this resentful mentality to others, because if others knew, they would perceive one as lacking virtue. Therefore, to demonstrate one's virtue, consciousness displays an appearance of compassion and care towards others, aiming to create a good impression and positive evaluation from others.

When pretending, it is entirely a disguise of consciousness. Consciousness can devise schemes or crafty plots, compelling the manas to agree. When the manas lacks its own ideas, it complies with the arrangements of consciousness. Once consciousness relaxes its vigilance and no longer supervises the manas, the manas will act according to its true thoughts, thus revealing its true nature. Mental formations without the disguise of consciousness are the true virtue and cultivation of each individual. At this point, whether the manas has been cultivated can be discerned.

Consciousness can exert a certain influence on the manas. If the ideas and thoughts of consciousness align with the mental formations of the manas, the manas will fully agree and make decisions very swiftly, without hesitation. If consciousness does not align with the mental formations of the manas, the manas will need to consider and deliberate before making a decision. If the analytical power of consciousness is particularly strong and persuasive, the manas, though not entirely in favor, may reluctantly agree. If the stance of the manas is very firm, then consciousness cannot make the manas submit and agree. If the manas is very stubborn, consciousness cannot persuade it.

If the manas is not controlled by consciousness and acts entirely according to its own mental formations, the person will be very unrestrained, naive, simple, willful, and stubborn, displaying their true nature—good is good, bad is bad, with a strong personality. If regulated by consciousness, the manas cannot fully express its true nature and must engage in varying degrees of pretense, especially in front of others, particularly those with significant influence or interests—one must pretend. This is because the manas is not yet good enough, hence the need for pretense. When there are people or matters one cares about, one cannot act freely according to one’s nature.

If a person’s inherent nature is to lie habitually and frequently, it indicates that the essence of the manas is very poor. If consciousness does not regulate it, it will never change. If the manas does not have a habit of lying and dislikes lying, but consciousness insists on lying at times to conceal certain facts, this is pretense—consciousness providing misguided guidance to the manas.