Only the Enlightenment of the Manas Can Give Rise to Wisdom.

Regarding the issue of the power of wisdom (prajñā-bala) of the manas: all the wisdom possessed by the mind consciousness must land upon the manas in order to be considered successful, in order for seeds to be stored, in order to be useful in future lives, and ultimately it is the wisdom-power of the manas that performs all functions. For the manas to realize the fruits, from the first fruit to the fourth fruit, and if one wishes to see the mind, from the initial seeing of the mind to becoming a Buddha, it is all the wisdom of the manas that takes effect. The result of the mind consciousness's wisdom is to make the manas possess wisdom, to enable the manas to transform consciousness into wisdom, to be endowed with great wisdom, and ultimately to become a Buddha.

The difference between the wisdom of the mind consciousness and the wisdom of the manas lies in this: the mind consciousness has the function of logical thinking, analysis, and inference, and can engage in relatively abstract thought. The manas, however, cannot think abstractly; it must have something concrete, with plot and imagery—the more direct perception, the better; the more realistic, the better. The manas has great difficulty with analytical thinking ability and can hardly carry out logical reasoning and judgment; in this respect it relies on the mind consciousness, while other measurements of direct perception it can accomplish entirely on its own, though of course having the mind consciousness as an aid is best and fastest. Therefore, when there are pictures, images, and present scenes and circumstances, the manas corresponds more readily, the mind consciousness's memory is more firm, and it is also very easy to understand—that is precisely the reason. When the six faculties interpenetrate and function mutually, the manas takes the place of the mind consciousness and also takes the place of the five consciousnesses. The account in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra of Mahākāśyapa's perfectly illuminated knowing, not relying upon mental thought, illustrates precisely this principle.