Who Governs the Physical, Verbal, and Mental Activities of the Six Consciousnesses?

The phenomena created by the six consciousnesses are ultimately governed by the seventh consciousness, the manas (root consciousness). This represents the mental formations of the manas. The surface-level actions, behaviors, and activities of body, speech, and mind performed by the mental consciousness are all ultimately ruled and decided by the manas. While body, speech, and mind actions can follow the decisions of the mental consciousness, this requires the power of consciousness to be greater than that of the manas, possessing sufficient persuasive force, and the manas must be willing to heed the suggestions and guidance of consciousness. If the power of the manas is stronger and it is unwilling to follow the suggestions of consciousness, then the manas completely takes control and makes the decisions. For example, when killing, if one feels pity for sentient beings while committing the act, it shows that the pity arising in consciousness still cannot overcome the habitual tendency to kill rooted in the manas. The killing karma is still created following the lead of the manas.

Consciousness temporarily cannot overcome the manas. When consciousness grows stronger, understands the Dharma and causality more deeply, its persuasive power increases. Once it successfully persuades the manas, one will cease to create killing karma. When consciousness has not yet fully transformed the manas, one will obediently create killing karma under the manas' influence while simultaneously feeling pity. When the wholesome mental factors within consciousness are not yet solid and strong enough, consciousness cannot guide the manas nor overcome it. In such cases, one may perform wholesome actions while simultaneously harboring greed, hatred, jealousy, seeking personal gain alone, thinking only of benefiting oneself and not others. When the wholesome mental factors of consciousness are not sufficiently strong and solid, not yet fully transformed, the Four Right Efforts have not been cultivated. Consequently, the unarisen wholesome states within the manas cannot arise, and the already arisen unwholesome states cannot be abandoned; one is unable to cease evil and cultivate goodness.