The Difference Between the Manas and the Wisdom of Consciousness

Question: So-called memory is the storing of the content experienced by the first six consciousnesses with the participation of the manas, and later, when needed, the mind consciousness leads in recalling it; whereas understanding is that, under the guidance of the wisdom of the mind consciousness, the thinking of the manas is aroused, so that the manas comprehends the internal connections and principles of things. Therefore, when encountering related problems, there is no need for recollection—the manas directly provides answers and handles them. Thus, when the manas has wisdom, it handles problems concisely and quickly; when the manas lacks wisdom, it must search through memory, and as a result, handling problems takes longer and is inefficient. Is the above understanding correct?

Answer: The above understanding is roughly correct. Recollection is carried out by the mind consciousness, but it is led and determined by the manas. Understanding is comprehension led primarily by the mind consciousness, and it will also involve the comprehension of the manas to a greater or lesser degree. When the manas lacks wisdom, it needs to go through the recollection of the mind consciousness, and then compare, contrast, and weigh things before it can make a decision that is either right or wrong. The shallower the wisdom, the longer the time spent comparing and weighing, the more hesitant and indecisive, and the less confident. That kind of decisive resolution—like cutting through tangled hemp with a sharp blade, without the mind consciousness needing to deliberate, analyze, compare, or weigh—is the direct decision of the manas, whether wise or not. Handling matters without revealing any sign, without having to rack one's brains, without thinking back and forth, silently and automatically resolving matters—all of this is the wisdom of the manas. People who are seasoned and adept at handling affairs all have wisdom in their manas; with rich experience, they can handle matters in a harmonious and unobstructed way, leaving no handle for others to seize.

Students whose manas lacks wisdom generally rely on the rote memorization of the mind consciousness and cannot improvise freely; when they encounter questions that are not knowledge-based, they are at a loss. Students whose manas has wisdom never want to memorize; they always improvise freely after understanding the problem. Therefore, in school examinations, those who get high scores are not necessarily students with genuine wisdom—it depends on whether the exam questions are knowledge-based content or content requiring improvisation, whether they test knowledge or test wisdom. The Buddha-dharma is the same: a person who, once asked, produces a whole body of theory is not necessarily a person with wisdom of realized realization. If he has read many books, is broadly learned and widely informed, has extensive knowledge and strong memory, and can skillfully use the mind consciousness to organize, categorize, summarize, and analyze the dharmas he has studied, he can put together a theoretical system—but this does not mean it is the wisdom of realized realization; it may also be an accumulation of knowledge.

The accumulation of knowledge cannot eradicate afflictions; it only shows that the mind consciousness is clever. Studying the Dharma with a person whose mind consciousness is clever, one can gain a great deal of theoretical knowledge, but realized realization is very difficult. Studying the Dharma with a person who has realized realization makes realization easier, though his knowledge may not necessarily be extensive; but after realization, his wisdom has grown, and he can gradually expand the breadth of his knowledge and supplement some necessary theoretical knowledge.

When the manas has wisdom, the wisdom is deep, there are no afflictions, the vision is broad, the mind is wide, there is boldness and courage, the gaze is far-reaching, one can accurately judge major matters of right and wrong, and one will not do wrong things. The cleverness of the mind consciousness lacks profound great wisdom, the capacity of mind is not large enough, and it is possible that cleverness may be one's own undoing. A person's innate wisdom is all brought along by the manas—it is the wisdom of the manas; wisdom acquired later is newly learned—it is the wisdom of the mind consciousness, though it may also include the wisdom of the manas.