The Dharma Must Be Realized Simultaneously by the Sixth and Seventh Consciousnesses

True realization of all dharmas is always attained and acknowledged simultaneously by the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. If only the mind consciousness thinks this way and that way, but the manas does not acknowledge it, does not know and does not understand the principles that the six consciousnesses have acknowledged, then the manas has not been successfully infused, He has not realized the Buddha-dharma, and the body-mind world cannot undergo transformation. Because the mind consciousness floats on the surface, its thinking is relatively shallow, and it cannot act autonomously, being entirely dependent on the direction of the deeper-level manas; if the manas has not been successfully infused, He will still use His original, pre-existing cognition to direct all the actions and activities of the mind consciousness, and the mind consciousness's own independent views cannot play their proper role.

The manas is the decision-making consciousness, that is, what is commonly called the subconscious deep within the mind. If something or some principle is acknowledged deep within the manas's mind, it will prompt the bodily, verbal, and mental actions to act in accordance with the acknowledged principle. Although before eradicating self-grasping, the manas still has attachments and afflictions and cannot make all decisions entirely according to the realized principles, after all, His views have already changed. When the manas eradicates afflictions and self-grasping, there is no longer a self within the mind, and the infusion is thoroughly accomplished.

The process of the mind consciousness's thinking is precisely the process of making the manas understand the principles; this is a process that must be experienced. The mind consciousness must think, and must think deeply. If it does not think, the manas cannot understand the principles. When the mind consciousness understands a principle but the manas does not yet understand it, the bodily, verbal, and mental actions will not change. The manas must rely on the content and information thought out by the mind consciousness in order to know these principles that the mind consciousness has understood. If the mind consciousness does not think, no information is transmitted to the manas, the manas cannot discern it, He cannot understand the principles, cannot prompt a change in views, and the bodily, verbal, and mental actions also cannot change. Therefore, in our study and practice of the Buddha-dharma, we must be adept at thinking, making good use of the mind consciousness, and contemplating and practicing in accordance with the Dharma. In practicing the Buddha-dharma, we must not let the mind consciousness always remain in a state of no thoughts and no awareness, nor let the mind consciousness sit idle and useless; otherwise we cannot deeply understand the principles, and our wisdom will not grow.