The Admonitory Role of Manas

Question: In the past, when I experienced fear, apprehension, or anxiety in my heart, I always felt like something was about to happen, though I didn't know what it was. My mind was unsettled, and then something really did occur. Is this the manas (the seventh consciousness) knowing in advance?

Answer: Psychological phenomena like fear, apprehension, anxiety, and so on are emotional expressions of the manas. They cause the consciousness to feel that something bad is about to happen, yet without knowing exactly what it is. The manas can foresee many things in advance; it knows almost everything. However, it cannot personally deal with matters; it only possesses alertness. Only when the consciousness becomes aware can it begin to do something, making plans and arrangements. The manas is anxious about events that are going to happen but doesn't know how to express this to make the consciousness aware. By the time the event occurs and the consciousness realizes what it is, it's often too late, rendering the situation irreparable.

Sometimes, events dreamed about are also things the manas is concerned with. It then alerts the consciousness to become aware, prompting the consciousness to handle it. Consequently, the events from the dream do indeed happen later. This is the alerting function of the manas, also known as a precognitive dream. Because the consciousness is intelligent, wise, and possesses analytical and thinking abilities, it can devise solutions to problems and take concrete measures and actions. The manas itself cannot take any action. Therefore, when it foresees that something is about to happen, it alerts the consciousness in various ways, reminding it to know. Once the consciousness receives this alert and hint, it may comprehend what is likely to happen and prepare in advance. If the manas possesses wisdom in alerting the consciousness, it makes it easier for the consciousness to comprehend. If the consciousness is wise, it also easily comprehends the warnings and hints from the manas.

Precognitive dreams are the manas letting the consciousness know in advance about events that will happen in the future. The manas can know future events that have not yet occurred; it can reach into the future. Why is this so? Because the Tathagatagarbha (Buddha-nature storehouse), based on karmic seeds, can know matters of the three realms (desire, form, formless) across past, present, and future. The manas, relying on the dharmas (phenomena) seen by the Tathagatagarbha, can generate its own perceptions. Since the Tathagatagarbha can see all dharmas, the manas can also see all dharmas, but the nature of what they perceive differs.