The Five Names of Manas: Part II

Original Text: The fourth is the knowledge consciousness. It discerns defiled and pure dharmas and distinguishes all differentiated dharmas.

Explanation: The fourth name of the manas is the knowledge consciousness. It can differentiate all dharmas as defiled or pure, such as good and evil, right and wrong, and discern the distinguishing characteristics of all dharmas. The Śraddhotpada Śāstra states that manas is the knowledge consciousness, which is absolutely correct. As the sovereign consciousness, it represents the fundamental essence of sentient beings and determines all aspects of their existence. If the sovereign consciousness of the five-aggregate body lacked such wisdom, then the five aggregates would be devoid of wisdom, and there would be no wise individuals in the world. The claim that manas possesses inferior wisdom is not entirely accurate. When differentiating extremely subtle dharma-objects, manas indeed falls short compared to the mental consciousness, hence the need to employ the mental consciousness. However, once manas gains the capacity to discern subtle dharma-objects, the mental consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses become redundant. Manas directly assumes the functions of the six consciousnesses. Abandoning the functions of the six consciousnesses and utilizing the root consciousness eliminates much trouble and obstruction, allowing great spiritual powers to manifest.

Original Text: The fifth is the continuous consciousness. It constantly engages in mental application, corresponding uninterruptedly. It upholds past good and evil karmas, preventing their loss or destruction, matures present and future experiences of suffering and happiness, ensuring no violation of karmic law, suddenly recalls events that have been experienced, and falsely differentiates events that have never been experienced.

Explanation: The fifth name of manas is the continuous consciousness. Manas is called the continuous consciousness because its five universal mental factors operate perpetually and uninterruptedly. Consequently, the ālaya-vijñāna continuously produces and operates all dharmas in accordance with manas, causing the five-aggregate world to appear ceaselessly. When this life ends, the next life arises, perpetuating birth after birth without end. Thus, all good, evil, defiled, and pure dharmas continuously manifest in accordance with manas. Good and evil karmas remain unbroken, and their corresponding karmic retributions do not fail to materialize. Moreover, manas matures the karmic retributions of suffering and happiness in the present and future, never violating the principles of causality. Events experienced by manas throughout countless lifetimes since beginningless time can suddenly be recalled when conditions ripen, and events not yet experienced can also be falsely differentiated.

Bodhisattva Maitreya stated that manas upholds good and evil karmas, preventing the loss or destruction of karmic seeds, and matures karmic fruits and retributions. This meaning is profoundly deep and immensely significant. The bodily, verbal, and mental actions created by the six consciousnesses are stored in two ways: first, as seeds deposited into the ālaya-vijñāna, where they are held and preserved by the ālaya; second, they are upheld by manas and carried into future lives. What does "uphold" mean? To uphold means to bear, to carry, to take responsibility for the karmic actions.

Why must karmic actions be borne and taken responsibility for by manas? Because manas is the sovereign consciousness, the master of the five-aggregate body, the ruler and instigator of all karmic actions. The six consciousnesses merely serve as assistants, cooperating and facilitating; they are not the sovereign rulers. The ālaya-vijñāna is certainly not the sovereign of karmic actions; it does not instigate karmic creation. Therefore, after karma is created, all karmic actions are borne and taken responsibility for by manas, who carries the karmic fruits. The six consciousnesses cannot bear karmic actions because, firstly, they are not sovereign, and secondly, they perish at death, unable to carry karmic seeds into future lives. Since all dharmas are created under the sovereignty of manas, the good or evil nature of karmic actions reflects the good or evil nature of manas itself. Manas fully possesses all wholesome and unwholesome mental factors, which correspond to the karmic actions and seeds, and these mental factors are carried forward into future lives. Therefore, spiritual practice means cultivating manas, influencing manas, and transforming manas.

Manas also matures the karmic retributions of good, evil, suffering, and happiness, corresponding to the law of cause and effect. One might ask: Aren't karmic retributions matured by the ālaya-vijñāna? The ālaya-vijñāna only manifests ripened karmic seeds, actualizing karmic retribution, but it does not mature the karmic retribution or the seeds themselves. Only when the karmic conditions are complete and the seeds have ripened can the ālaya-vijñāna manifest the ripened karmic seeds, causing the karmic retribution to appear. Maturing karmic seeds and retributions is not the function of the ālaya-vijñāna but of manas. Manas carries karma with it; when external conditions manifest, the karmic retribution will appear.

The Śraddhotpada Śāstra states here that manas possesses the function of recollection. This statement is profoundly correct because manas is also a mind, and moreover, an extremely important mind that plays a crucial role. Manas has experienced all dharmas; having experienced them, it naturally can recollect them and prompt the mental consciousness to recall the past based on this recollection. Therefore, it is said that manas possesses the mental factor of recollection (smṛti), enabling it to remember and recall all dharmas. Only the master (manas) remembers and recollects all dharmas. When action is needed, it summons the assistants (the six consciousnesses) to handle the specifics. The assistants do not appear constantly; they manifest only when needed by the master and remain absent when not required.

The meanings conveyed by the five names of manas are profound and contain vast amounts of information. They overturn many people's outdated and unreasonable understandings of manas and also challenge the perceptions of Yogācāra masters throughout history, past and present. After all, the Dharma meaning of manas belongs to the category of Yogācāra and the wisdom of specific discernment (pratisamvid). Those without realization in Yogācāra cannot directly perceive manas, so misunderstandings are inevitable. Historically, the first Bodhisattva recognized by the World-Honored One and recorded in texts as having attained the First Ground (Prathamabhūmi) was Nāgārjuna Bodhisattva, followed by Asaṅga Bodhisattva, and then Maitreya Bodhisattva. It is said that Ānanda also entered the First Ground, though he did not transmit the Yogācāra Dharma. Within the Chan school, there may have been other patriarchs who attained the First Ground but did not transmit the Yogācāra Dharma, possibly because upon initial entry into the Ground, their wisdom of specific discernment in Yogācāra was not deep enough, and their power of observation regarding Yogācāra was not yet strong, so they were unable to transmit the Yogācāra Dharma.

Apart from these, there is no documented evidence proving that others who transmitted the Yogācāra Dharma possessed the realization of a First Ground Bodhisattva. Therefore, the Yogācāra treatises they authored contain flaws and errors; their Dharma meanings are not entirely correct and can only serve as references, not to be fully accepted or relied upon. Among Yogācāra treatises, the Śraddhotpada Śāstra authored by Bodhisattva Maitreya possesses a very high level of realization. It accurately observes the mental factors of manas. Its translator, Śikṣānanda Bodhisattva, also possessed high realization, rendering a precise, truthful, and accurate translation. This is a Yogācāra treatise worthy of trust.