How to Find the Manas

When we are in the mode of "I... I... I," when the mind is, the more clearly this is the manas. Because the mind consciousness simply has no time to react, no time to think; it is entirely the manas that makes decisions and choices based on its own habitual tendencies and inertia accumulated over beginningless kalpas. It then immediately causes the six consciousnesses to produce bodily, verbal, and mental actions—extremely quickly.

For example, suppose something suddenly flies in from outside and is about to hit you. You are very alert and dodge it in an instant, with no time for thinking. The mind that decides to dodge is the manas. From beginningless kalpas, He has clung to the body as self, and He has constantly been mindful of the physical body as self, as well as the condition of the body and everything related to the body—He knows all of it. When an unexpected event occurs, it is He who makes the body dodge immediately, so as not to suffer any harm or danger whatsoever. This mind that urgently decides to dodge is the manas.

Or suppose you are boiling water at home. The water boils, and suddenly some boiling water scalds your body or hand a little. You immediately shake your hand away—the mind that makes this decision is the manas. Because the mind consciousness has no time to react: when this sudden hot tangible sense-object contacts the body, the mind consciousness has no time to feel it. It may also perceive the heat, but it has no time to think about what is happening. The manas has already decided to dodge immediately and shake the hand away, or has decided how to handle the situation, causing the body to react and respond rapidly. This is the manas's decision. Only after shaking your hand away do you have feelings, and only then does the mind feel a bit of lingering fear, a bit of pain and distress. The reaction at this point is the reaction of the mind consciousness.

Separate the two natures of the manas and the mind consciousness. Once separated, the manas becomes easy to find. As for the eight consciousnesses, separate each one, break them down into individual consciousnesses, and observe the operation of each; then you can know the functional nature of each consciousness. Separate the seven consciousnesses, and after you have found them all, the one that remains is the eighth consciousness. Contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) on the eight consciousnesses in this way leads to realization very quickly, and very directly. The same applies to observing and contemplating the illusory nature of the five aggregates (pañcaskandha): separate the activities of the five aggregates and contemplate them one aggregate at a time. Then you will understand the functional nature of each aggregate, be able to observe the arising, ceasing, and mutable character of a particular aggregate, and know that it is impermanent, illusory, and not-self.