Dreams Are Projected by the Manas

Question: In summer, after falling asleep with the air conditioner on, I sometimes dream of walking in an icy, snowy land, feeling chilled all over. From the perspective of Consciousness-Only, what is happening?

Answer: Sleeping with the air conditioner on in the middle of the night, the body becomes very cold, but without the six consciousnesses to perceive the cold, the problem of bodily cold cannot be resolved. The manas does not sleep; although it knows the body is cold, it cannot handle the matter—it cannot cover itself with a blanket or turn off the air conditioner. To address this, it thus creates a dream about the body suffering from cold, causing the consciousness to feel the body's intense chill in the dream, shivering in the ice and snow.

A more alert consciousness will wake up; upon waking, it realizes the body is genuinely cold, then investigates why it is cold, discovers the air conditioner is on, turns it off, covers itself with a blanket, resolves the matter, and goes back to sleep. A less vigilant consciousness will continue to endure the cold until waking at dawn, even catching a cold from the chill. This incident proves that the manas can know many dharmas, but without the assistance of the six consciousnesses as helpers to act for it, it is powerless and unable to operate the activities of the five aggregates. The six consciousnesses serve the manas, act on its behalf, and fulfill its needs.

Dreams are all conceived by the manas through thought. The mental activities of the manas are manifested in many aspects: manifested in dreams, manifested in the karmic actions of body, speech, and mind, manifested in various mental activities, manifested in emotions, manifested in the body's subconscious reactions, and manifested in the body's involuntary responses. The manas, together with the tathagatagarbha, controls and regulates the physical body and the five aggregates. As soon as the manas has a thought, the body moves, and the five aggregates begin to operate.

Ordinary people observe only the superficial phenomena of the six consciousnesses or attribute the mental activities of the manas entirely to the consciousness. They cannot distinguish between the mental activities of the manas and those of the consciousness. When the consciousness disappears or becomes weak and powerless, the manas intensely desires the activities of the five aggregates and wishes for their normal operation. However, if the six consciousnesses do not appear or are feeble, they cannot make the five aggregates function. The anxious helplessness felt by the manas is generally imperceptible to ordinary people. Even if they are aware of it, they mistakenly attribute it to the anxiety and powerlessness of the consciousness. Their thoughts and understanding remain confined to the level of consciousness, following its lead, unable to delve deeper into the profound psychological layers of the manas behind the consciousness.