The Realization of the Manas Is Far More Difficult Than the Mere Intellectual Understanding of the Mind Consciousness

(6) The mind consciousness must constantly permeate and influence the manas, in the hope of changing the manas' ingrained cognition and views. For the mind consciousness, understanding all dharmas is not difficult; the difficulty lies in the manas' understanding and cognition. Therefore, changing the manas' views is extremely difficult. Yet once the manas' views are changed, attaining the fruits of realization becomes something easily within reach, and so do seeing one's true mind and awakening, as well as accomplishing various contemplative practices (vipaśyanā-caryā). Once the manas attains the fruit of realization, its views and ways of thinking are instantly transformed.

The mind consciousness first understanding and then permeating the manas is the prerequisite; the subsequent work—and indeed the most essential work—is to let the manas personally investigate and deliberate (manana). Only after that can there be firsthand realization. Without this procedure, everything is merely intellectual understanding.

An ancient saying goes: "A three-year-old child can say it, but an eighty-year-old man cannot do it." Some people can speak as if they had reached the level of a Buddha's realm, taking the Buddha's realization as their own; but when they themselves truly realize and accomplish it, they will already have become a Buddha. The meaning is that understanding a problem is extremely easy, whereas truly realizing it is difficult beyond difficulty. That is why noble ones are rare, exceedingly rare—not like some people who read a couple of books, understand a little, and then a sage suddenly appears out of nowhere.