The Decisive Role of Manas

The contact between the eye faculty and form dust is divided into the external eye faculty contacting external form dust and the internal eye faculty contacting internal form dust. Only when the internal eye faculty contacts internal form dust can eye consciousness arise to cognize form dust. However, the eye faculty is a material form dharma, not mind; how could it actively contact form dust? For example, if there are trees, stones, grass, and flowers in front of the eyes, how does the eye faculty specifically choose to contact the flowers, so that eye consciousness only cognizes the flowers and not other objects? How long does the eye faculty take to contact form dust? How long does eye consciousness take to cognize the flowers? What determines this?

All of this is determined by the mental faculty (manas). The mental faculty is the master of the five-aggregates body, the one in charge. Of course, the mental faculty is a false master, merely a fox borrowing the tiger's ferocity, relying unknowingly on the true master, the eighth consciousness, behind it. When this false master, the mental faculty, faces numerous internal form dusts, it exclusively chooses the flowers because the mind delights in the flowers, and there are no other matters requiring attention at present; it simply wishes to admire the flowers. If there were important matters, it would have no time for the flowers.

When the mental faculty wishes to see the flowers, the form dust of these flowers is already present at the internal eye faculty. As soon as the mental faculty decides, eye consciousness will arise. Thus, the eye faculty, form dust, and eye consciousness come together in contact, and eye consciousness recognizes the form dust of the flowers. How long eye consciousness cognizes is determined by the mental faculty. Once the mental faculty has admired them enough and no longer wishes to look at the flowers, eye consciousness ceases regarding the flowers and arises elsewhere. During this process, seeds fall and are stored in the eighth consciousness, creating future existence. The craving of the mental faculty and the craving of mental consciousness are also faithfully recorded by the eighth consciousness, becoming seeds. Eye consciousness also has slight craving; it craves only by conforming to the mental faculty and mental consciousness. Eye consciousness fundamentally cannot be in charge; it is completely involuntary.

If we wish to be liberated from worldly suffering, we must not let our actions leave seeds, especially seeds of greed, hatred, and delusion. So, what should we do? We must control the thoughts of the mental faculty, preventing greed, hatred, and delusion from arising, and prevent the six consciousnesses from creating unwholesome bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Alternatively, we should create fewer bodily, verbal, and mental actions, and while creating them, not give rise to greed, hatred, and delusion, striving to leave behind only pure karmic seeds.

Who decides to create fewer karmic actions? It is decided by the mental faculty. The source of karmic actions lies with the mental faculty. The volitional formations conditioned by the mental faculty's ignorance arise because the mental faculty, due to various reasons, various mental formations, and various ignorances, wishes to act. Only then do karmic actions appear, karmic seeds are retained, and future suffering arises. Thus, having found the source of the suffering of birth and death, it should be clear how one should conduct oneself in the world henceforth. Reduce contact, reduce the duration of contact. If contact is unavoidable, during contact, reduce or eliminate mental formations, keeping the mind as empty as possible, not leaving behind afflictive seeds. Gradually train oneself in this way, and liberation becomes possible.