The Distinction Between the Manas and the Activities of the Mind Consciousness

If the manas is stirred, there will be various reactions on the physical body, such as blushing, a racing heart, shyness, or bulging veins, trembling all over, and so on. When the mind consciousness alone is stirred, the body has little reaction and remains relatively calm. Those who only talk but do not act are operating with the mind consciousness alone, while the manas is not stirred; those who say one thing and do another are speaking with the mind consciousness, while the manas does not want to do it, and so they do not do it; those with a habit of deceiving others are all performing with the mind consciousness, and the manas is not stirred at all. Therefore, to observe a person's character, one should look at how they act, not merely at how they speak—doing is more real than saying.

The activity of the manas consumes a certain amount of energy, whereas the activity of the mind consciousness does not necessarily consume energy, or consumes relatively little. If the mind consciousness's activity consumes energy, it also involves the whole body, because energy flows throughout the entire body; the whole body uses the same stream of energy—energy is not divided into separate parts. It is merely that people who like to use their brains to think consume the energy in the brain first, and only when the brain's energy is insufficient will the body's overall energy be consumed. The brain drives the whole body; when the brain is tired, the whole body becomes fatigued along with it, and rest is needed.

In the activity of the mind consciousness, it is not that there is no activity of the manas at all; the manas is involved to some degree, so energy needs to be consumed—the more the manas is involved, the more energy is consumed. If I do not ponder problems attentively and just quietly engage in superficial activity of the mind consciousness all day, I do not feel tired even after a whole day and night, nor do I feel very hungry. But if I ponder problems attentively, I feel tired after a short while and get hungry easily. That is why I am completely unwilling to engage with people and affairs, unwilling to exert my mind, unwilling to consider unimportant matters—unless they are meaningful and relatively important.

When investigating Chan attentively, a great deal of energy is also consumed; when cultivating meditative concentration without thinking, energy consumption is low, and the body instead feels very comfortable and relaxed. Cultivating concentration without thinking is relatively effortless, while contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and thinking can possibly burn up the brain. When using the mind consciousness to deliberate, because the mental engagement is shallow and scant, it is relatively fast and easy—one can speak in generalities, flowingly like drifting clouds and flowing water, with a string of clever words—but the content is shallow and superficial, reflecting one's level of knowledge and memory rather than wisdom. When using the manas to think, because the mental engagement is very deep, the conscious mind runs slowly and laboriously, but the content is profound and far-reaching in significance, reflecting a person's deep-level wisdom.

Let me use an analogy to illustrate the difference between using the mind consciousness and using the manas. Suppose a person is walking in mud: if the mud is shallow, only reaching the soles of the shoes, walking is still relatively fast and effortless; if the mud covers the ankles, the calves, or the knees, pulling the foot out is not easy, and every step is laborious, so walking becomes very slow. Using the mind consciousness to deliberate is like walking on a road with shallow mud; using the manas to think is like walking on a road with deep mud. Therefore, for a person who uses the manas to think about problems, if they always remain at the deep level of the manas and are highly focused, then each time a thought is shifted or a problem is switched, the flow of thought is very slow, requiring the consumption of much energy and feeling somewhat tiring. Such a person therefore likes quietude and does not want people or affairs from outside to disturb them.