On the Manas, the Wisdom of Awakening to the Path Is the Deepest

The Buddha said that the manas silently encompasses all dharmas; "silently encompasses" is equivalent to universally cognizing them. Most importantly, the eighth consciousness cannot manifest dharmas on its own, nor can it hold and sustain dharmas on its own; the manas is indispensable. Otherwise, the eighth consciousness in Nirvāṇa without remainder would also be able to manifest dharmas and hold and sustain dharmas, and then it would not be tranquil. The manas is the fundamental driving force behind the arising of all dharmas of the three realms; the arising of any dharma is propelled by the manas, and the eighth consciousness cannot operate alone. This shows that on all dharmas there is not only the operation of the eighth consciousness but also the operation of the manas; therefore, the manas can cognize all dharmas, and no dharma is without the manas. 

Even the karmic retribution that the manas is unwilling to undergo, and the karmic seeds that the manas is unwilling to cling to, are brought to manifestation by the eighth consciousness only because of the manas' condition. If it were not so, then since arhats still have karmic seeds, in Nirvāṇa without remainder the eighth consciousness should manifest those karmic seeds; if they could be manifested, it would no longer be the state of Nirvāṇa without remainder, and the eighth consciousness would be engaging in conditioned karmic activity.

The mind consciousness cannot have any single function or role on its own; it is always bound together with the manas, and everything is the result of the manas' assistance. The mind consciousness cannot have its own independent operation apart from the manas. Therefore, the function of the manas is extremely prominent and important.

The process by which a person's mind consciousness is activated is as follows: the manas first gives rise to a thought; after its attention (manaskāra), the mental factor of volition (cetanā) appears, and then the mind consciousness produces thoughts and ideas. When a thought arises, it is always the manas that first gives rise to it, and then the mind consciousness's thoughts emerge. Without the manas' thought, there is no thought of the mind consciousness. In investigating the huatou, in the end it is still a matter of tethering the manas to the huatou, never forgetting it for a moment, from morning to night, and only then can one break through the huatou—and this too is the result of the manas giving rise to thoughts. The manas giving rise to a thought is precisely the act of attention (manaskāra). Giving rise to a thought is attention; the words merely differ.

In fact, the six consciousnesses and the eighth consciousness have always been performing a two-person act together; thus one can discover the traces of the eighth consciousness in the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses. Likewise, the manas and the eighth consciousness are also performing a two-person act together; thus one can also find the traces of the eighth consciousness in the operations of the manas—in the manas' attention, contact, feeling, perception, and volition, and in all of the manas' functions of making decisions and exercising dominion. Then, attaining enlightenment through the manas is deeper, more direct, more thorough, and more ultimate, and the wisdom thus aroused is the deepest.