Are the Functions of the Five-Aggregate Body Primarily Based on Manas or Mind Consciousness?

The "cover" (āvaraṇa) in the aggregate of consciousness means obscuring and covering. Not only can the six consciousnesses obscure the true functions and roles of the eighth consciousness, the seventh consciousness (manas) can also obscure the functions and roles of the eighth consciousness. The key is: who is being obscured, and who is obscured so that they no longer recognize the functions and roles of the master? The functions and roles of the six consciousnesses obscure the functions and roles of the eighth consciousness, making manas feel that the functions and roles of the six consciousnesses are so real that it cannot see that they are all functions and roles of the eighth consciousness. This gives rise to illusion in manas, and so it grasps the feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness aggregates of the six consciousnesses as self, and as real.

But does manas also grasp its own nature of seeking contact, its masterliness, its grasping nature, and its clinging nature as self, as real? The key here lies in whether manas has the ability to introspect upon itself, whether it can observe its own functions and roles. The Buddha said that all eight consciousnesses possess self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana) and all have the capacity for introspection; it is only a matter of the degree of that capacity, and whether the mind consciousness can analyze these powers of introspection (pratyavekṣā-bala). Why must it be the mind consciousness that discovers this? Because the mind consciousness serves the manas and the five-aggregate body; the mind consciousness can handle the affairs of the five-aggregate body very well, while manas remains hidden behind, able only to direct and operate covertly, with the mind consciousness operating and executing openly in the foreground. If the mind consciousness does not understand the situation, it cannot help manas handle affairs. Therefore, many people can only observe the functions of the mind consciousness itself, taking the functions of the mind consciousness as primary, regarding the functions of the mind consciousness as their own true functions, and not regarding the functions of manas as the most primary and most important. Consequently, for dharmas that the mind consciousness does not understand or cannot observe, many people refuse to acknowledge their existence and resolutely reject them.

Manas also has the introspective capacity of self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana) and can observe its own functions and roles, regardless of whether the mind consciousness can observe this point, and regardless of whether the mind consciousness acknowledges it or not. Moreover, manas takes these functions of its own as real and grasps them, not knowing that they are all functions and roles of the eighth consciousness. Only after truly seeing the mind and attaining enlightenment does manas suddenly awaken with the realization: so it is not like this after all. Therefore, eradicating the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa), seeing the mind and seeing one's nature, realizing any fruit, and understanding any truth—all are realized and understood jointly by manas and the mind consciousness together. This is extremely important.