The Transformation of Mental Activities After Enlightenment

Chan patriarchs said: 悟后不异旧时人，只是不是旧时行履处。This means that after attaining realization, one is still the same person as before; it is only the mental conduct with which one deals with people and affairs that has changed, no longer the same as before, different from one's former mental conduct—the attentiveness with which one does things has changed, one's view of the world has changed, and one's view regarding the body of the five aggregates has changed. These changes show that realization is not merely an awakening of the mind consciousness; the manas must also awaken. Only then, after awakening, can one be not different from one's former self, and yet no longer dwell in one's former conduct. If one's conduct has not changed, if one's mental conduct and disposition have not changed, then one should examine whether one's awakening is genuine or false.