The Dharmas Contacted by the Manas That Are Unknown to the Mind Consciousness

The manas and the tathāgatagarbha are bound together. Whatever dharma the tathāgatagarbha manifests, the manas contacts that dharma and perceives that dharma. However, the manas's discernment also has priorities and levels. If the dharma He pays attention to is not clearly discerned by Himself, He will direct attention (manaskāra) and make a decision (vicikitsā/vetanā), and the six consciousnesses will come forth to discern it. If the dharma is one the manas can clearly discern by Himself but cannot handle, He will direct attention and make a decision to let the six consciousnesses come forth to discern and handle it.

There are extremely many dharmas that the manas can clearly discern by Himself and that need no handling, of which the mind consciousness knows nothing; and there are also extremely many dharmas contacted by the manas that do not require discernment by the six consciousnesses, of which the mind consciousness likewise knows nothing. There are also extremely many dharmas that the manas contacts and discerns clearly, and extremely many that He wants the mind consciousness to know and handle; yet because the mind consciousness lacks sufficient wisdom, it cannot know them, remaining muddled and confused. It may even feel baffled by the manas's hints and suggestions, and in the end the matter is left unresolved.

When the tathāgatagarbha manifests the realm of the six sense objects, at the moment the six sense objects first appear, it is the manas that contacts and discerns them first. If the manas cannot discern the six sense objects clearly, the six consciousnesses come forth to discern them carefully. When the six consciousnesses first begin to discern, they have nothing to compare the six sense objects against, so they too cannot discern them clearly, and the mind consciousness feels everything is vague and blurry. After several kṣaṇas of discernment, when there is something to compare the earlier and later sense objects against, and the object-realm becomes continuous, only then does the mind consciousness know what the six sense objects are. It is like writing a character: after the first stroke is written, no one knows what character it is; after the second stroke, still no one knows; after the third stroke, one can vaguely guess what character it is; and after the fourth stroke, one knows what character it is.