[Zapper]

Hello people.
I think I should’ve asked this question years ago.

What is actually Mano?

Is it the logical portion of the mind and or does it also include thoughts of visual forms (Rupa) and forms related to the other senses?

[Lal]

The easiest way to understand is as follows:

• An Arahant has six indriya or ‘sensory faculties’: cakkhu indriya, sota indriya, jivhā indriya, ghāna indriya, kāya indriya, and mano indriya. Arahants can experience the world (like anyone else) without the arising of any defilements (rāga, dosa, moha) by using those six indriya.
• A puthujjana (average human) has six āyatana or ‘defiled sensory faculties’: cakkhu āyatana, sota āyatana, jivhā āyatana, ghāna āyatana, kāya āyatana, and mano āyatana. They ALWAYS experience the world WITH defilements (rāga, dosa, or moha) using those six āyatana. 
• In the suttās, these six āyatana are, in many cases, abbreviated as just cakkhu, sota, jivhā, ghāna, kāya, and mano (without specifically saying they are āyatana). Sometimes they are stated specifically, e.g., cakkāyatana or cakkhu āyatana.
• Therefore, it is incorrect to translate “mano” as mind (as done in Sutta Central and many other websites). Mano, in most cases, refers to the defiled mind of a puthujjana, i.e., it is manāyatana or mana āyatana.
• When a puthujjnana attains Arahanthood, the six āyatana automatically convert to six indriya.

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Question: “Is it the logical portion of the mind and or does it also include thoughts of visual forms (Rupa) and forms related to the other senses?”

• All six sensory faculties experience the world with the mana indriya/āyatana. 
• The other five (cakkhu, sota, jivhā, ghāna, kāya) are only “doors” to the outside world. 
• For example, the cakkhu indriya/āyatana helps to see, i.e., the “rupa” or sight comes in through the cakkhu, but is experienced by the mind. The mind cannot directly receive rupa, sadda, gandha, rasa, or pottabbha.

• This reply was modified 1 day ago by Lal.

[Zapper]

Alright, it seems my thinking was wrong.
Lal, can you describe what Mano is to me? What do you mean by mind specifically?

[Lal]

Our thoughts arise in the mind. It receives external sensory inputs and generates thoughts in response to them.

• That is an unusual question. What else can it be?

[Christian]

I think Zapper hopes that there is something more to it; you can train your mind for jhanas and “supernatural” powers, just as you can train muscles to be stronger. Mind itself is just a container for many factors, through which you can do many things with it.

[Lal]

The defiled mind (mano) of a puthijjana attaches to one’s own thoughts and creates the seeds for future lives.

• Those thoughts have rupa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, and viññāṇa. These are abreviated words representing rupa upādānakkhandha through viññāṇa upādānakkhandha, i.e., pañca upādānakkhandha or pañcupādānakkhandha. 
• Those thoughts that initially arise are automatically defiled due to the “built-in distorted saññā” (the same as “kāma saññā” in kāma loka).
• Thus, one creates one’s own world, in the sense that one generates kammic energies to be reborn in various realms of the world.
• That is why the Buddha says one’s “loka” (world) is pañcupādānakkhandha, which is the same as “defiled mind.”
• I discussed that in #2 of the recent post, “Four Noble Truths: Connection to Anusotagāmi/Paṭisotagāmi.”

Perhaps Zapper was looking for such a detailed analysis.

[Author]

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