The Meaning of the Manas as the Presently Manifesting Consciousness

Manifesting consciousness (现识) means a consciousness of direct perception (pratyakṣa); it means seeing dharmas through direct perception, discerning dharmas through direct perception, or the manifestation of dharmas through direct perception. Although the manas, like the tathāgatagarbha, also possesses the function of presenting images like a mirror—the capacity to manifest images of dharmas as a mirror does—the images manifested by the tathāgatagarbha are images it generates itself, whereas the images presented by the manas are presentations of the images transformed by the tathāgatagarbha; the manas does not generate images. The relationship between the tathāgatagarbha as mirror and the images is one of generating and being generated: the generator must be a dharma that neither arises nor ceases, while the generated is subject to arising, ceasing, and change. But between the manas and the images there is no such relationship of generating and being generated—both are dharmas that are generated. Moreover, the images presented by the manas are essentially different from the images manifested by the tathāgatagarbha. What the tathāgatagarbha manifests is the essential object (object of original essence), the most primordial dharma created and transformed by the tathāgatagarbha; the images presented by the manas are objects bearing essence, which are the tathāgatagarbha's secondary transformation of dharmas and are no longer genuine.

Why is the manas said to be a manifesting consciousness of direct perception? Because when the manas sees dharmas, it sees dharmas that are presently existing; it sees dharmas as they truly are, and it has no capacity to see dharmas by inference or by erroneous cognition. In the very first instant that the tathāgatagarbha projects forth a dharma, the manas can already see it. This is the object bearing essence, close to the essential object, relatively genuine and reliable. Only after the manas has seen the object bearing essence, if it wishes to discern it further in detail, does it transmit the dharma to the six consciousnesses to be seen. What the six consciousnesses then see is no longer the relatively genuine object bearing essence; what they see is a dharma that has already undergone alteration, and the dharma they manifest is yet another layer removed from the essential object and the realm of the genuine—more illusory than the dharma seen by the manas. Furthermore, when the mind consciousness sees dharmas there is also inference and erroneous cognition, so the dharmas it manifests are even less genuine.

If we compare this with the meaning of manifesting consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha's seeing of dharmas is even more a seeing of direct perception, more genuine and reliable than the manas's seeing. Whatever dharma the tathāgatagarbha sees, it is a dharma that it itself has presently generated and grasps and upholds; there is not the slightest barrier or obstruction between it and the dharma. Whatever dharma it generates, that is the dharma it sees; whatever dharma it grasps and upholds, that is the dharma it sees. If it does not generate, it does not see; if it does not grasp and uphold, it does not see. Still less does the situation of seeing dharmas by inference or erroneous cognition ever occur. For the tathāgatagarbha, there are fundamentally no dharmas of the past and no dharmas of the future—all are dharmas of the present moment; even dharmas from countless kalpas ago are dharmas of the present moment. But for the six consciousnesses, they are not dharmas of the present moment. In fact, the six consciousnesses cannot see dharmas of the present moment: whatever dharma they see is a dharma that has already undergone alteration, a dharma of the past.