Consciousness Should Effectively Perfume and Transform Manas

Many people unconsciously display emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure when facing circumstances. Only afterward do they realize it, claiming that these emotions were predetermined and involuntary. In reality, they are all afflictive habits of the manas, a natural reaction of the manas manifested through the six consciousnesses. After the emotions manifest, the mental consciousness becomes aware and realizes that joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure had just arisen. When the mental consciousness discovers this, it feels as though it cannot control these emotions, and thus reluctantly concludes that they were predetermined and involuntary. If the mental consciousness possesses greater awareness, stronger concentration, and keener observation, it can observe certain emotions and mental states of the manas and even exert some control over them. Especially in daily life, one should engage in self-cultivation to influence the manas and alter some of its undesirable afflictive habits.

Some people's mental consciousness itself harbors improper thoughts and emotions, lacking the capacity for self-cultivation and effective psychological development. They excuse themselves by saying that no matter how much the mental consciousness struggles, it cannot stray beyond the habitual patterns of the manas. If the mental consciousness truly cannot transcend the habitual patterns of the manas, what use would spiritual practice be? The very purpose of spiritual practice is to use the mental consciousness to transform the manas. If the mental consciousness diligently applies itself, the manas will inevitably yield to it, and spiritual practice will then progress onto the right path.

The various mental formations, thoughts, and emotions of the manas give rise to all kinds of physical, verbal, and mental actions. If one desires pure, wholesome physical, verbal, and mental actions, one must fully utilize the initiative and guiding function of the mental consciousness, actively guiding the manas toward goodness, thereby creating pure physical, verbal, and mental actions, as well as meritorious ones. If the habits of the manas are too deeply ingrained, even though the mental consciousness recognizes the unwholesomeness, it may be unable to change, much like the compulsion of drug addiction — even knowing the poison harms oneself, one still takes the drug. When sentient beings are heavily afflicted, even though they recognize the affliction and understand its faults, they still cannot cease being afflicted. This is the state of the most elementary practitioners; the path of spiritual practice is still very long.