In the following situations, the manas gives rise to the six consciousnesses without advertence.

First, when asleep without dreams, the manas knows that the physical body needs rest, does not wish to cling to or discern anything, and does not engage attention. The six consciousnesses then do not arise and do not discriminate. Second, during the fetal stage, the five coarse sense faculties and the supreme sense faculties are not yet complete, so the six sense bases cannot form. The eighth consciousness has not manifested internal object-aspects, and the manas does not contact the six sense objects. Therefore, the first six consciousnesses cannot arise, and there is no receiving and discerning by the six consciousnesses. Third, when unconscious, the supreme sense faculty in the brain is damaged, the entry of the six sense bases into the supreme sense faculty is blocked, and the causes and conditions for the arising of the six consciousnesses are incomplete, so discrimination does not arise. Fourth, in the concentration without thought (asaṃjñā-samāpatti), although the supreme sense faculty is intact, the manas does not wish to discern in detail forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas, so the six consciousnesses do not arise. Fifth, in the cessation concentration (nirodha-samāpatti), both the feeling mental factor and the perception mental factor of the manas are extinguished. The manas does not cling to the six sense objects, so there are no six consciousnesses receiving the six sense objects.

As long as the manas exists, it engages attention toward the realms of the six sense objects. Even in a coma and in the concentration without thought, there is still attention. Moreover, relying on the eighth consciousness, it also attends to the body faculty. This is why one can wake up from a coma and emerge from concentration. Otherwise, one would not wake up, nor could one emerge from the concentration without thought or the cessation concentration.

If an earthquake suddenly occurs in the middle of the night while one is asleep, the manas also wants to run—why can't it? Because this bodily action of running must be directed by the manas and executed jointly by the body consciousness and the mind consciousness. If the six consciousnesses cannot arise quickly, the manas can only fret helplessly. When a nightmare ghost presses on the body, the manas also wants to shake it off—why can't the body move? The manas also wants to move—why can't it? The mind consciousness still knows that the chest feels heavy and pressed, but it simply cannot move. All of this is because the six consciousnesses are very weak, and their power is insufficient to deal with the nightmare ghost.