The Relationship Between Manas and the Five Aggregates

The mental faculty is neither independent of the five aggregates nor dependent upon them; it neither merges with the five aggregates nor separates from them; it is capable of detaching from the five aggregates yet does not detach from them. Why is this so? The mental faculty is not independent of the five aggregates because all its thoughts, ideas, and volitions must be realized and fulfilled through the five aggregates. Thus, the mental faculty regards the five aggregates as itself. Meanwhile, the functioning of the five aggregates enhances and stimulates the thoughts of the mental faculty, causing the five aggregates to revolve around the mental faculty and the mental faculty to revolve around the five aggregates, entangling each other inseparably.

The mental faculty is entirely capable of independence from the five aggregates because: (1) Before the initial establishment of the world, the five aggregates did not exist; only the eighth consciousness and the mental faculty were present; (2) At the moment of death, when the five aggregates cease, only the eighth consciousness and the mental faculty remain; (3) In the stage of the fertilized egg, before the five aggregates arise, only the eighth consciousness and the mental faculty exist; (4) In the state of nirodha-samāpatti (cessation attainment), only a subtle form aggregate exists among the five aggregates, while the aggregates of sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness of the six consciousnesses are absent; the eighth consciousness and the mental faculty persist; (5) During unconsciousness and at other times, only subtle form and consciousness aggregates exist among the five aggregates, while the eighth consciousness and the mental faculty remain unaffected; (6) When an Arhat first emerges from nirvana without residue, only the eighth consciousness and the mental faculty exist, as the five aggregates have not yet manifested. Therefore, the mental faculty can be entirely independent of the five aggregates but cannot be independent of the eighth consciousness. (7) Even when the five aggregates are present, the mental faculty can still have its own independent mental activities, which do not arise because of the five aggregates.

During the continuous operation of the five aggregates, the mental faculty also possesses an independent dimension. The mental faculty regards the five aggregates as itself, or treats the five aggregates as its own possessions, as tools to realize its thoughts and volitions. This implies a sense of independence from the five aggregates. The five aggregates possess attributes of the eighth consciousness because they are transformed by the eighth consciousness using the seven great seeds, everywhere revealing the information of the eighth consciousness; in truth, the five aggregates in their entirety are the eighth consciousness. However, if it is said that the five aggregates possess attributes of the mental faculty, it is because the five aggregates align with the habits of the mental faculty, being a result of the mental faculty's ignorance.