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Self-Clinging Manas
Self-Clinging Manas
Thich Nhat Hanh
· June 12, 2014
· Upper Hamlet, Plum Village, France
Reviewed
The title, description and transcript have been reviewed for accuracy.
Thay explains that nothing truly dies or is born but instead changes form, a concept rooted in both Buddhist teachings and modern science. Through this understanding, we can see our ancestors as always present within us and we can communicate with them through our actions and thoughts. Thay encourages reconciliation with parents by understanding their suffering, thus transforming anger into compassion and restore relationships.
Thay delves deeply into Buddhist psychology, discussing the roles of manas and store consciousness in shaping perceptions and actions. Thay concludes by highlighting the wisdom of non-discrimination as a means of transforming suffering and fostering boundless love.
This the seventh talk in a series of thirteen given during the What happens When We Die?, twenty-one-day retreat in the year 2014. Thay offered this talk at the Upper Hamlet, Plum Village. France.
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The
other
day
we
learned
that
basing
on
store,
manas—another
form
of
consciousness—is
born.
And
basing
on
manas,
another
form
of
consciousness
is
born
as
mental
consciousness
or
mind
consciousness.
[Thay
writes
on
the
board.]
For
manas,
we
know
that
the
first
characteristic
of
manas
is
“the
will
to
live”,
the
energy
that
can
make
everything
alive,
and
that
is
in
store
consciousness,
and
manas
represents
that,
and
is
pushed
by,
fed
by
that
kind
of
energy.
So
manas,
one
of
the
functions
of
manas
is
to
try
to
cling
to
life,
to
protect
life,
to
defend
itself
from
the
dangers,
auto-defense.
And
then
the
second
characteristic
of
manas
is
to
grasp
at
the
kind
of
objects
that
is
the
five
aggregates:
forms,
feelings,
perceptions,
mental
formations,
and
consciousness—and
consider
it
to
be
the
self.
And
manas
is
a
kind
of
intuition
also,
direct
perception,
but
not
right
perception.
Day
and
night,
manas
always
grasps
the
five
aggregates
and
says:
“I
am,
I
am".
[Thay
writes
on
the
board.]
"I
am"
which
means
you
are
not
me.
But
in
fact,
in
reality,
“I”
is
made
only
of
"non-I”
elements.
A
flower
is
made
only
of
non-flower
elements,
and
Buddhism,
you
already
know,
Buddhism
is
made
only
of
non-Buddhist
elements.
Buddhism
has
no
self,
a
flower
has
no
self,
and
therefore
what
I
call
me
has
no
self,
the
“me”
is
made
only
of
non-me
elements.
If
I
remove
all
the
non-me
elements,
like
sunshine,
water,
air,
father,
mother,
culture,
then
there
is
no
me
left,
I
am
made
of
non-me
elements.
But
manas
doesn't
know
that,
and
that
is
the
problem,
manas
needs
help.
And
this
is
a
strong
belief,
this
is
a
strong
attachment.
[Thay
writes
on
the
board.]
As
we
already
know,
one
of
the
characteristics
of
manas
is
always
looking,
searching
for
pleasure,
always
looking
for
pleasure,
that
is
a
natural
tendency
in
us,
and
that
is
manas.
So
what
Sigmund
Freud
described
as
the
“id"—"le
ça"
is
in
manas,
always
looking,
searching
for
pleasure.
Our
tendency
of
running
after
objects
of
pleasure
is
originated
from
manas,
pleasure-seeking.
[Thay
writes
on
the
board.]
And
then
the
next
characteristic
is
“pain
avoiding”.
Manas
doesn't
like
pain,
suffering,
so
it's
trying
always
to
run
away
from
suffering.
From
time
to
time
you
feel
loneliness,
anxiety,
fear,
anger,
and
you
suffer,
so
manas
is
pushing
you
to
run
away
from
that.
You
pick
up
a
magazine
to
read,
you
open
the
fridge
and
find
something
to
eat,
you
go
to
the
internet,
you
listen
to
music,
that
is
pushed,
you
are
being
pushed
by
manas,
trying
to
avoid
suffering.
That
is
why
we
do
not
have
a
chance
to
go
home
and
to
take
care
of
the
suffering.
For
practitioners
of
meditation,
we
need
always
to
go
home
and
get
in
touch
with
the
suffering
inside,
we
try
to
recognize
it,
hold
it,
and
look
deeply
into
it
in
order
to
understand.
Understanding
suffering
will
bring
about
compassion,
they
will
heal,
but
manas
does
not
know
that.
Manas
always
tries
to
push
us
to
run
away
from
suffering,
and
in
this
society
of
ours,
most
of
us
are
doing
the
same.
We
are
trying
to
run
away
from
the
suffering
in
us,
we
pretend
that
there
is
no
suffering
inside,
and
in
fact,
the
suffering
inside
is
pressing
us
to
do
many
things
that
can
cause
more
suffering
to
us
and
to
other
people.
So
pleasure
seeking
and
pain
avoiding
belong
to
the
function
of
manas.
Day
and
night,
it's
always
grasping
and
saying,
"I
am,
I
am
this
body,
I
am
this
feeling,
I
am
these
mental
formations"
and
so
on.
[Thay
writes
on
the
board.]
The
next
characteristic
of
manas
is
to
ignore,
to
ignore
the
dangers
of
pleasure-seeking.
And
many
young
people,
they
run
after
the
objects
of
their
craving
and
they
destroy
their
bodies,
they
destroy
their
minds,
they
don't
see
the
danger
of
pleasure-seeking,
and
that
is
manas.
We
are
being
pushed
by
manas
to
go
after
objects
of
pleasure
and
we
did
not
know
that
these
objects
of
sensual
pleasure
maybe
destructive
to
our
body
and
to
our
mind.
The
next
feature
is
that
manas
“ignores
the
goodness
of
suffering”.
[Thay
writes
on
the
board.]
Suffering
is
like
the
mud
with
which
we
can
grow
the
lotus
flower,
without
the
mud
there
is
no
lotus.
So
suffering
is
needed
in
order
to
create
understanding
and
compassion.
The
fact
is
that,
when
you
are
in
touch
with
suffering,
when
you
begin
to
understand
suffering,
compassion
arises.
It
is
understanding
and
compassion
that
make
a
person
happy,
understanding
and
compassion
are
the
two
foundations
of
love
and
happiness.
That
is
why
manas
does
not
know
that
suffering
is
useful.
We
know
that
in
the
Kingdom
of
God
there
is
suffering
because
if
there
is
no
suffering
there
is
no
understanding
and
compassion
either.
Where
there
is
no
mud,
there
is
no
lotus.
Where
there
is
no
suffering,
there
is
no
love
and
happiness.
And
that
is
why
suffering—the
mud—is
as
wonderful
as
happiness
and
love,
and
manas
ignores
that.
If
you
send
your
children
to
a
country
where
there
is
no
suffering,
what
happens?
Your
children
will
never
grow
up
and
have
understanding
and
compassion.
It
is
the
suffering
inside
of
you
and
around
you
that
helps
you
to
understand
and
to
be
compassionate.
So
out
of
the
mud
of
suffering
is
born
the
lotus
of
understanding
and
compassion.
That
is
why
our
definition
of
the
Kingdom
of
God
is
a
country
where
people
know
how
to
make
good
use
of
suffering
in
order
to
create
happiness.
You
cannot
expect
to
have
lotus
flowers
without
mud.
If
there
is
no
mud,
there
is
no
lotus,
if
there
is
no
suffering,
there
is
no
happiness.
And
then
another
feature
of
manas
is
manas
ignores
the
law
of
moderation.
[Thay
writes
on
the
board.]
So
there
is
quite
a
lot
of
mud
in
manas.
But
we
know
that
manas
is
helpful
because
without
the
mud
we
cannot
create
wisdom,
understanding.
The
problem
is
how
to
keep
the
level
of
the
mud
not
too
high.
The
problem
is
how
to
make
good
use
of
the
mud
in
order
to
produce
lotus
flowers,
and
it
is
mind
consciousness
that
can
do
the
job.
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