The Innate Great Wisdom of the Manas

The difference between the wisdom of the seventh consciousness and the sixth consciousness is simply that the manas cannot, like the mind consciousness, make detailed and specific discernments of the realms of the six sense objects—that is all. Otherwise, the wisdom of the manas is quite remarkable. Much of the time, when we deal with worldly affairs, especially extremely urgent matters and extremely hectic matters, we rely entirely on the manas's experience and wisdom, while the mind consciousness is unable to cope—unable to analyze or resolve things—and can only follow the manas's direction and arrangements. Sometimes this can be called going along with conditions, and sometimes it can be called leaving things to fate, yet in the end everything gets resolved, and sometimes quite satisfactorily and to one's heart's content.

The manas has His own unique great wisdom. For instance, fearlessness in the face of danger, composure and calm, orderliness and method, lofty aspirations and heroic spirit, a heart as open and humble as a valley, and so on and so forth—all of these are the wisdom of the manas, and it is truly remarkable. Especially for those who over many lifetimes have been human beings, served as leaders and generals, or served as high officials and ministers—people with rich experience—the wisdom of the manas is very powerful. They mostly rely on the wisdom of the manas to decide how to handle and respond to all matters, while the mind consciousness is often without intention or thought.

When a great general commands on the battlefield, the urgent decisions and major strategies are often made by relying on the manas's wordless wisdom and strategic acumen, while the mind consciousness is often unable to exert any force. People with merit, with firm opinions of their own, and with strategic acumen, when encountering matters, are often very calm and composed; they do not rush to respond or rush to make decisions. When the time comes, ideas and solutions will arise spontaneously—this is relying on the manas, for the manas has its own methods. Having a backbone of one's own is also a matter of relying on the manas. What worldly people call having "an old pig's stubborn spine" means that the manas has its own convictions, and the mind consciousness need not concern itself.

People of great wisdom, the perceptive, the rational, and the cultivated still rely primarily on the wisdom of the manas; the mind consciousness need not employ cunning, scheming, or stratagems, for the manas has its own arrangements. This great wisdom is the result of the manas's deliberation (manasikāra/manana), and also the result of the manas's seasoned experience. A talented person cannot be trained on the spot—that is to say, if one were to have this person's mind consciousness learn now and then perfume the manas, it would already be too late. It must be that this person previously possessed the necessary qualities, complete from birth—qualities inherent in the manas, long since successfully perfumed, the wisdom with which one is born.

What is called the faculty of wisdom (indriya), what is called the faculty of goodness, what is called merit—all of these refer to what the manas possesses, what is innate and inborn.