The Neutral Feeling of Manas

Neutral feeling is the sensation that does not perceive either suffering or pleasure. It is partially reasonable to say that the manas experiences neutral feeling, as it remains neutral toward bodily contact and does not directly perceive the six sense objects. Regardless of how much pain the physical body endures, the manas does not feel the pain; it is the body consciousness and mind consciousness that perceive the pain. Without body consciousness and mind consciousness, the physical body will not experience pain. For instance, during surgery, if body consciousness and mind consciousness are present, the person remains conscious and will inevitably experience severe pain. In order to eliminate pain perception, anesthesia must be administered to first extinguish body consciousness and then mind consciousness, so that the physical body does not feel pain during the operation.

When experiencing a toothache, once asleep and the six consciousnesses have ceased, the pain is no longer felt, even though the inflammation in the tooth persists. Upon waking, the pain resumes, and sometimes it can even wake one up in the middle of the night. Why does the pain wake one up at midnight? During unconsciousness, even though the body is in poor condition, no pain is felt; yet upon waking, the pain becomes unbearable. When undergoing retribution in hell, the pain becomes so intense that one faints and ceases to feel it, but the karmic force does not allow the sinner to remain unconscious. Blown by the karmic wind, the sinner regains consciousness and continues to suffer retribution. During meditation, pain perception may also lessen or disappear because the six consciousnesses either cease or become extremely subtle.

Therefore, pain perception is a sensation jointly experienced by body consciousness and mind consciousness. The manas does not possess such sensation; even if it did, the mind consciousness would not know and could not observe it. Sentient beings regard the sensations of the six consciousnesses as their own sensations. When the six consciousnesses cease or become subtle, regardless of what sensations or mental states the manas may have, the mind consciousness remains unaware. Unaware, it assumes that the manas has no sensations, no mental activities, or that the manas is very simple and possesses shallow wisdom.

When the function and influence of the manas become powerful enough to replace the six consciousnesses, all sensations belong to the manas. However, at this stage, the meditative and wisdom attainments of the manas have already become extraordinarily sublime, and it almost entirely experiences neutral feeling, devoid of emotional fluctuations. For ordinary sentient beings, the manas still experiences feelings of suffering and pleasure, not merely neutral feeling. It possesses psychological sensations similar to those of the mind consciousness—such as grievance, suppression, restlessness, resentment, joy, happiness, and excitement—with significant emotional volatility, leading to manifestations like burning with rage, dancing with joy, or beaming with delight.