The Levels of Learning and Practice

Learning and cultivation occur at two levels: initially at the shallow level of the mind consciousness, and only at the end can one reach the deep level of the manas. In learning any kind of theoretical knowledge, it is always the mind consciousness that begins to learn first; it has not yet reached the manas. While the mind consciousness learns, it simultaneously perfumes the manas. When the perfuming succeeds, the theoretical knowledge is truly mastered and becomes one's own genuine insight, turning into one's own learning and skill, which can be brought into play anytime and anywhere without obstruction, and will not be forgotten. Only knowledge grasped by the mind consciousness can be forgotten, because it is learned from outside—it is someone else's thing, not one's own. What truly belongs to oneself will not be forgotten, nor does it need to be deliberately held in mind; it is available whenever used. This is called the flowing forth from one's own mind, not a parrot repeating another's words. In the cultivation and realization of the Buddha-dharma, some also call it the flowing forth from one's own nature (self-nature).