When Attaining the Fruit, It Must Be the Manas That Attains the Fruit

Why was it that when Śāriputra was in his mother's womb, his mother had such excellent wisdom in debate? Was it the wisdom of Śāriputra's mind consciousness, or the wisdom of the manas? It was the wisdom of the manas. If the function of the mind consciousness in the womb were very powerful, then everyone should be born equal, all possessing wisdom. Some children, at three or four years of age, can sit cross-legged in meditation without being taught—this is what the manas brought from past lives. The wisdom displayed by gifted children is also the wisdom of the manas.

Why do some people insist that the wisdom of the manas is very inferior? If the wisdom of the manas were truly very inferior, there would be no people born with great wisdom. For example, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, when entering the womb, dwelling in the womb, and emerging from the womb, are never deluded about the world of the five aggregates, and all possess great wisdom. There are also some ordinary sentient beings with special talents who possess a certain gift from childhood, without needing to learn it from elsewhere or be taught by others—all of this was carried over by the manas; it is the wisdom of the manas.

With the same mind consciousness, why did Śāriputra attain the fourth fruit of arhatship the moment he heard the Buddha preach the Dharma, while others remained ordinary beings? Because Śāriputra's manas had already attained realization of the fruits many times in past lives; only the mind consciousness of this life was new. Therefore, upon hearing the Dharma principles again, he did not need to contemplate and practice from the beginning; the moment his mind consciousness heard the Buddha's Dharma, he realized non-self, continuing the fruit he had attained in his previous life. The manas of other people had never attained realization of the fruits; when they heard the Buddha's Dharma, only their mind consciousness became somewhat clear, and they still needed to carefully contemplate and practice in meditative concentration before they could attain realization. Thus, when they lacked meditative concentration and could not effectively contemplate and practice, they could not attain realization and remained ordinary beings.

At the time of attaining realization, if one says that the manas need not attain realization, would this person still have the wisdom of realized attainment in the next life? A person of the first fruit, after seven more returns among humans and gods, must attain the fourth fruit and realize nirvāṇa without remainder. After attaining the first fruit, when his life ends he ascends to the heavens. If his manas had not attained realization, and his newly born mind consciousness had also not attained realization, would he still be a person of the first fruit when he arrives in the heavens? Obviously not. Would this person need to attain the first fruit again in the heavens? Of course he would need to contemplate and practice again to attain realization, because neither his mind consciousness nor his manas had attained realization.

After this deva attains realization again in the heavens, when his life ends he is reborn in the human world. Since his manas had not attained realization, and his newly born mind consciousness had also not attained realization, this person would still have to attain the first fruit all over again. Then he would still have to make seven more returns among humans and gods, and he would need to attain the first fruit anew once more. In this way, this person would forever have to attain the first fruit anew, unable to become a person of the second, third, or fourth fruit. Once the conditions for attaining realization are not complete, whether among humans or in the heavens, he cannot even attain the first fruit and can only remain an ordinary being. Then when could he ever become a person of the fourth fruit and be liberated from birth-and-death in the three realms? Therefore, attaining realization requires that both the mind consciousness and the manas attain realization.