The Sovereignty of the Manas

When itching appears, the brain issues the command to "scratch." If this command cannot be carried out, the neural regulation becomes disordered, and the body resorts to other means, making the muscles twitch to relieve the itch on its own.

The brain does not issue any commands at all—was it the manas or the tathāgatagarbha that issued the command? It is the result of the manas mobilizing them. The body does not come up with solutions either—was it the manas or the tathāgatagarbha that came up with the solution? It was the manas that devised the solution. The tathāgatagarbha neither issues commands nor devises solutions. At this point, the mind consciousness has not yet arisen, so it was not a command issued by the mind consciousness, nor a solution devised by the mind consciousness. Even when the mind consciousness is present, the autonomous behavior of the body's neurons also occurs during sleep, when the mind consciousness cannot participate and cannot help; in the case of leg cramps, the mind consciousness is always the last to know; in the various bodily reactions during deep coma, there is no involvement of the mind consciousness at all; when a mosquito suddenly bites, the mind consciousness has no time even to think—a startled slap is delivered in a flash, and here there is no thinking, analysis, or decision-making by the mind consciousness whatsoever, for the mind consciousness does not even know that a mosquito has bitten.