Does the Manas Have Memory?

When one's skill is proficient and handled with ease, what role does the manas play in this? In worldly matters, it is said that mastering a skill requires both theory and practice. From the perspective of the Buddha-dharma, theory is the understanding of the mind consciousness, while practice is the personal realization of the manas. Proficiency in a skill is the result of repeated practice that perfumes the manas; moreover, there must also be wise contemplation and the summarizing of experience, so that the manas elevates its wisdom and the mental factors change—only then can proficiency be achieved.

For example, in learning to ride a bicycle, even if you memorize the theory of cycling thoroughly, you still cannot ride. You must get on the bike and practice repeatedly before you can ride. The operation of the body is directly controlled by the manas with the cooperation of the tathāgatagarbha. The process of practice is precisely the process of using the mind consciousness's thinking to perfume the manas. Once the manas has been repeatedly perfumed, operating the body becomes very skillful. At that point, the mind consciousness pays no attention at all to the matter of riding the bike, yet the bike is still ridden steadily.

The manas directs the six consciousnesses in their operations; when its direction is skillful, the operations of the six consciousnesses are skillful. On what basis can the manas direct skillfully? From this it can be seen that it would be absolutely impossible if the manas had no memory. If the manas had no memory, the mind consciousness could never succeed in perfuming the manas—the manas would forget as soon as it turned away, and the mind consciousness's repeated practice would be useless. In later lives, upon encountering the right conditions, one would learn a certain skill very quickly—this is the manas's memory at work.