How to Engage the Discernment of Manas in Dhyāna

In meditation, using the deliberation of the manas without the thinking of the consciousness is a rather profound practice that is difficult for ordinary people to achieve. It requires a deep foundation in dhyāna (meditative concentration) and a certain level of contemplative practice. When dhyāna and contemplative practice reach a certain stage, one can shift from the thinking of the consciousness to the deliberation of the manas. The thinking of the consciousness is relatively superficial, floating on the surface, and is observable by most people. For example, by introspecting what thoughts are in the mind at this moment, one knows what one is thinking about, contemplating, or planning. These thoughts generally float on the surface and are the thinking of the consciousness.

Simultaneously, there is the support and dominant role of the manas in the background. If one's concentration and wisdom are insufficient, it is not easy to observe this, making it difficult to recognize one's true inner thoughts. When the mind is cultivated to a very subtle state, one can observe that behind the thinking of the consciousness, there is a force playing a dominant role, and that force and the flow of thoughts belong to the manas. Once one discovers that force of the manas behind the consciousness and can grasp the manas, one should gradually dilute the function of the consciousness's thinking. After diluting it to a certain degree, one then relinquishes the thoughts of the consciousness. After relinquishing them, one must still maintain thoughts in the mind, preserving the thinking activity of the manas, not allowing oneself to become completely thoughtless and devoid of mental activity. This is very difficult.

In meditation, one must learn to strive to discover that deep inner force. It actually has thoughts, mental activity, and the capacity to think—that is the deliberation of the manas. After discovering it, one strives to maintain that deliberative activity, not letting it disappear, and hands over the Dharma meanings contemplated by the consciousness to it, allowing it to continue deliberating alone. This belongs to a relatively deep state of investigation. This is how Chan (Zen) meditation is practiced; contemplating that the five aggregates are not the self employs such effort. In this way, the deliberation of the manas is mobilized. This mode of thinking, this effort, is called the deliberation of the manas.

Achieving this is inseparable from profound dhyāna. One needs very strong dhyāna practice, capable of relinquishing coarse false thoughts, and at a certain point, even fine false thoughts must be relinquished. False thoughts are thoughts that think about other insignificant dharmas, that is, distracting and multiple thoughts. These thoughts interfere with right mindfulness and must all be removed, leaving only the dharma that the consciousness needs to contemplate. Then, the thinking of the consciousness is also relinquished, allowing the manas to deliberate on this dharma. Consciousness and manas exchange roles in contemplating the issue. At this time, the consciousness still exists, performing a very subtle function of discernment, but it does not engage in deep thinking, analysis, or reasoning. Instead, it allows the manas to deliberate deeply, without language, words, or sound. This deliberative function is difficult to observe when dhyāna and wisdom are insufficient.

The functional role of this deliberation by the manas is also called the deep-seated thoughts within the mind. Everyone's thoughts are divided into two kinds: one floats on the surface, which are the superficial thoughts of the consciousness, and the other is hidden deep within, which are the deep-seated thoughts, that is, the thoughts of the manas in the depths of the mind, representing one's true thoughts. For example, if I tell others now what I plan to do, but in reality, I do not have such thoughts, the expressed thoughts carry an element of perfunctoriness, while there is another inner voice and thought within. That thought is more concealed, and one does not wish others to know about it, so one uses the language of the consciousness to cover it up or divert attention.

Continuously introspect the manas within oneself, grasp one's manas mind, and then transfer the dharma that was originally held and contemplated by the consciousness to the manas, allowing the manas to hold it. In this way, the manas can constantly and everywhere hold this dharma in mind, and the deliberative nature of the manas becomes manifest. If the manas agrees, the impregnation (vāsanā) is successful; if the manas does not accept it, the impregnation is not successful. Only when the effort is sufficient can it succeed.

In daily life, we all use the manas and its deliberative function, but we cannot observe it, distinguish it, nor summarize it, so we cannot differentiate whether it is the thinking of the consciousness or the deliberation of the manas. This requires increasing dhyāna practice and contemplative wisdom to clarify these issues. Only when dhyāna deepens can the mind become subtle, enabling one to discover the distinction between consciousness and manas, and also distinguish the inner voice from the surface voice, thereby understanding the state of the manas's deliberation, grasping that deliberative nature of the manas, and gradually learning to apply it.

To reach this level, one must strengthen the practice of dhyāna, enhance the discerning power of wisdom, subdue afflictions, reduce false thoughts, and let the mind associate with the Buddha Dharma without clinging to worldly dharmas. As dhyāna is cultivated more deeply, the mind becomes increasingly focused, false thoughts become fewer and fewer, to the point where one can relinquish false thoughts at will. When the mind becomes increasingly subtle and wisdom increasingly profound, the functional role of the manas will be well exerted.

After the physical body is subdued and one reaches the state of equipoise of concentration and wisdom (samādhi and prajñā), one can directly use the deliberation of the manas to solve problems. When doubt regarding a dharma is strong, directly hang this dharma in the mind. At first, the consciousness holds it, then the function of the consciousness is reduced and diluted, allowing the manas to hold this dharma. At this point, one enters a deeper level of dhyāna, allowing the manas to deeply deliberate on this dharma. The more the manas focuses on deliberation, the deeper the dhyāna becomes; the deeper the dhyāna, the more focused, deep, and subtle the manas's deliberation becomes. Finally, one can clarify this issue, and simultaneously enter a state of samādhi, filled with Dharma joy, experiencing physical and mental lightness and meditative bliss. Samādhi is the state of equipoise of concentration and wisdom. After this state arises, one's mental state throughout the day will be excellent, and both body and mind will be very light and at ease.