''Manas'' (
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...
: मनस्) is one of three overlapping terms used in the
nikayas to refer to the
mind
The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...
, the others being ''
citta
''Citta'' (Pali and Sanskrit: चित्त; pronounced ''chitta''; IAST: ''citta)'' is one of three overlapping terms used in the '' nikaya'' to refer to the mind, the others being '' manas'' and '' viññāṇa''. Each is sometimes used i ...
'' and ''
viññāṇa''.
Comparison with ''citta'' and ''viññāṇa''
''Manas'', ''citta'', and ''viññāṇa'' are each sometimes used in the generic and non-technical sense of "mind" in general, and the three are sometimes used in sequence to refer to one's
mental processes as a whole. Their primary uses are, however, distinct. In the distinction of
Abhidhamma Pitaka of
Theravada Buddhism
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
, mana or mano is sort of the notion of mind as a whole, whereas a citta is each of instant steps or processes of mind, and viññāṇa is one of the several forms of citta, also being a step of a
vithi or mental procedure, which is an orderly sequence of citta.
Relationship with thinking and volition
Manas often indicates the general
thinking faculty. Thinking is closely associated with
volitions, because mental activity is one of the ways that volitions manifest themselves: "Having willed, one acts through body, speech, and thoughts." Furthermore, willing is described in terms of deliberate thinking.
Undeliberate thought is often an expression of latent tendencies (''anusaya''), which are conditioned by the volitional
nexus
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of the past.
The term is not used in the description of the cognitive process in the early texts, aside from the preliminary role of ''manodhātu.'' The discursive activities of the cognitive process are rather the function of ''
saññā
''Saṃjñā'' (Sanskrit; Pali: ''sañña'') is a Buddhist term that is typically translated as "perception" or "cognition." It can be defined as grasping at the distinguishing features or characteristics. ''Samjñā'' has multiple meanings dep ...
'', together with "
reasoning
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, langu ...
" and "making manifold". This suggests that the "thinking" done by ''manas'' is more closely linked to volition than to the discursive processes associated with
apperception Apperception (from the Latin ''ad-'', "to, toward" and ''percipere'', "to perceive, gain, secure, learn, or feel") is any of several aspects of perception and consciousness in such fields as psychology, philosophy and epistemology.
Meaning in philo ...
. Manas is mainly the mental activity which follows from volitions, whether immediately, or separated by time and caused by the activation of a latent tendency.
[Sue Hamilton, ''Identity and Experience.'' LUZAC Oriental, 1996, pages 109-110.]
Notes
{{Buddhism topics
Buddhist philosophical concepts