The Relationship Between Manas and the Six Consciousnesses in Physical, Verbal, and Mental Activities

Question: Since the manas (mental faculty) dominates the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of a person, in what specific functions are the six consciousnesses manifested in bodily and verbal actions?

Answer: The mental consciousness (mano-vijñāna) is the specific executor and creator of bodily and verbal actions. From observing bodily and verbal actions, one should understand how the mental consciousness operates and what functions it performs. For instance, activities such as walking, standing, sitting, lying down, speaking, laughing, eating, drinking, and so forth are all produced through the collaborative functioning of the mental consciousness and the body consciousness. However, the controller is the manas. Superficially, it may appear as if the mental consciousness is directing these actions, but in reality, the mental consciousness merely provides suggestions to the manas. The specific decisions lie with the manas. During the process of operation, the mental consciousness may generate other thoughts and offer counsel to the manas. If the manas deems these suggestions reasonable, it may adopt them; if it disagrees, the choices and commands remain unchanged, and the mental consciousness must proceed accordingly.

Bodily actions are the collaborative functioning of the mental consciousness and the body consciousness; verbal actions are likewise the collaborative functioning of the mental consciousness and the body consciousness. Seeing forms is the collaborative functioning of the mental consciousness and the eye consciousness; hearing sounds is the collaborative functioning of the mental consciousness and the ear consciousness; smelling scents is the collaborative functioning of the mental consciousness and the nose consciousness; tasting flavors is the collaborative functioning of the mental consciousness and the tongue consciousness; and experiencing touch is the collaborative functioning of the mental consciousness and the body consciousness. In the operation of all six sense faculties, the functioning of the mental consciousness is present. Without the mental consciousness, the aggregate body (the five skandhas) cannot move; if the mental consciousness is weak, the aggregate body also struggles to move effectively.

When sentient beings lack sufficient meditative concentration and the wisdom derived from contemplation, they can only perceive the functioning of the six consciousnesses in bodily, verbal, and mental actions. They fail to see the dominant and decision-making role of the manas, let alone the fundamental function performed by the eighth consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna). This is because the operational characteristics of the manas and the eighth consciousness are extremely subtle. Ordinary people, due to insufficient roots of virtue and merit, find it very difficult to observe them. Because they cannot observe these subtle functions, some claim that all phenomena are merely the functions of the six consciousnesses, denying the existence of the manas and the eighth consciousness. This is the unwise view of the six-consciousnesses theory.