How to Subdue the Perfumed Manas and Reduce Afflictions

Jing He's contemplative practice: Recently I have gained a small insight into the manas: I feel that the manas's "actions" are layered. Before the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses arises, the manas is mainly characterized by doubt; only after that mental consciousness arises does it display obvious characteristics such as greed and aversion. In daily life, one generally only wakes up to reflect after habits such as greed and aversion have already arisen, whereas in sitting meditation one should try to reflect and introspect right at the moment when the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses first arises. But this process of reflecting and letting go generally requires the mind consciousness to provide some guidance; one cannot let go immediately upon reflection (this is because the manas has not yet fully accepted the emptiness of the five aggregates). This is what troubles me now.

Assessment: The manas's initial doubt is uncertainty about a dharma, so it cannot yet make a decision. Once the mind becomes certain and free of doubt, a decision is made, and after the decision the six consciousnesses arise and act in accordance with the manas's intentions. During the process of action, the mind consciousness observes the dharma, and in that observation it discovers that it has greed, aversion, and delusion—this "self" refers to the manas. The manas's greed, aversion, and delusion are manifested through the actions of the six consciousnesses. At this point, the solitary mental consciousness possesses the power of observation or the power of introspection. Generally speaking, when the solitary mental consciousness's awareness is not very strong, one only observes one's habits of greed, aversion, and delusion after the bodily, verbal, and mental actions have been completed, which is a step too late. If the solitary mental consciousness has strong awareness, then at the moment when one is about to decide to act, one discovers that one has greed, aversion, and delusion, that the action to be performed is a karmic deed of greed, aversion, and delusion, and one decides not to perform it. This decision is fed back to the manas, and the manas then makes its own decision; the final outcome depends on the manas's level of awakening.

If the manas's awareness is weak and its habits are heavy, it will still insist on its own decision, unwilling to change its bodily, verbal, and mental actions, letting the afflictions continue to manifest. But even so, the introspection of the solitary mental consciousness still has an effect: it plants a seed in the manas, permeating and influencing it, letting the manas know that this kind of behavior is greed, aversion, and delusion, that it is unwholesome and should not be done. The next time the manas wants to manifest afflictions, there will be hesitation and obstruction in the mind, and the force of the afflictions will be weakened. Through the mind consciousness's repeated obstruction and persuasion, the manas's intentions will change, and it will no longer continue the actions of affliction. Therefore, cultivation is not something accomplished overnight. Every act of introspection by the mind consciousness is a permeating influence on the manas, planting seeds for the elimination of afflictions, and these seeds will sooner or later take root, sprout, flower, and bear fruit. The manas's afflictions, accumulated over countless lifetimes, are piled up like a mountain and cannot be changed in a short time. Patient, sustained permeating and cultivation is necessary, and one should constantly maintain awareness.