The Principle of Mother-Child Heart-Mind Connection

A mother is sewing at home when her child encounters trouble outside; at that moment, the needle suddenly pricks her hand, causing it to bleed. The mother immediately senses that something has happened to her child. Alternatively, if the mother encounters trouble, the child might suddenly have an intuition and know that the mother is in distress.

The principle behind this is that the two individuals not only share a blood relationship but also possess a deep karmic affinity. This connection is essentially a relationship between their manas (the mental faculty), and the karmic affinity is also a relationship between their manas. Due to experiences accumulated over countless kalpas (aeons), the manas is extremely perceptive, leading to mutual concern. When one party encounters trouble, the other immediately senses it. Why is this so? Because the manas, following the tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature), is omniscient. Matters concerning those it deeply cares about are naturally kept under constant attention. Once something unusual happens to the other person, the tathāgatagarbha, in accordance with the manas' focus, transmits that information, and the manas becomes aware. It then finds a way to inform the conscious mind (vijñāna) so that appropriate action can be taken. If the manas does not inform the conscious mind, it cannot handle the matter by itself.