The Simultaneous Realenance of Manas and Consciousness: Meritorious Fruition and Its Application

Merely realizing the truth with consciousness is insufficient; it is essential that the manas simultaneously perceives the true reality of the dharma realm. Only when the manas attains realization can one transcend false appearances, for only the manas can command the six consciousnesses to reject false appearances and distance themselves from them. The conscious mind lacks this authority and cannot exercise control. When the manas realizes false appearances, it simultaneously gains the ability to consciously distance itself from them. Realization by consciousness alone is futile; as long as the manas remains inseparably bound to false appearances in every instant and moment, consciousness cannot detach from false appearances, and bodily, verbal, and mental actions remain unchanged.

The manas is like a hitching post; even if consciousness is permitted to roam freely, it must still circle around the pillar of the manas and is not allowed to stray far. If the hitching post of the manas were to move or shift about, could the wild horses of the six consciousnesses remain fixed in one place without following the manas’s movement? It is fundamentally impossible. Therefore, the genuine achievement in Buddhist practice lies entirely in the cultivation of the manas. Only then can one genuinely transform one’s body and mind.