眾生無邊誓願度
煩惱無盡誓願斷
法門無量誓願學
佛道無上誓願成

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Dharma Teachings

30 Jul 2019    Tuesday     4th Teach Total 1740

Only when the mind consciousness can know the content known by the manas is it called superknowledge.

Question: Can the manas cling to and engage with one's own body of the past, present, and future throughout the ten directions and three periods of time (or with people and affairs with which one has affinities)? For example, when the manas gives rise to attention (manaskāra), will other people receive the information?

Answer: Sentient beings take the mind consciousness's knowing as their knowing; what the manas knows, if the mind consciousness does not know it, is as good as unknown. The manas, relying on the tathāgatagarbha, can know all dharmas, but it simply cannot make the mind consciousness know them. Only by cultivating the four dhyānas and eight samādhis can the mind consciousness come to know what the manas knows, and only then is it called superknowledge (abhijñā). When your manas sends out information, the other person's manas can also know it, but if that person's mind consciousness does not know it, then it is as good as unknown. Unless the manas uses some special method to make the mind consciousness aware, that person cannot know.

After the mind consciousness has transformed its consciousness into wisdom, it can know some of what the manas knows, and can observe the manas directly in the present, thereby coming to understand some of the manas's mental activities and inherent nature. Some people then say that the manas's scope of knowing has become greater and its content more abundant. In fact, the manas has always been able, relying on the tathāgatagarbha, to know an immense number of dharmas; the mind consciousness simply does not perceive it.

——Master Sheng-Ru's Teachings
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