The Three Mannana

Mannana means fantasy, egotistic estimation, high imagination, or feigning to oneself that one is what one is not. Through nescience hallucination arises and through hallucination fantasy arises.

Fantasy is of three kinds, to wit:

1. Tanha-mannana: fantasy by lust (desire of the sense);
2. Mana-mannana: fantasy by conceit;
3. Ditthi-mannana: fantasy by error (in beliefs).

Of these, "fantasy by lust" means the high imagination: "This is Mine!" "This is my Own!" in clinging to what in reality is not "Mine" and "My Own". In strict truth, there is no "I"; and as there is no "I", there can be no "Mine" or "My Own". Though indeed, it is the case that both personal and impersonal (external) objects are highly imagined and discriminated as "This is Mine, that other thing is not mine," and "This is My Own; that other thing is not my own". Such a state of imagination and fanciful discrimination is called "fantasy by lust".

Personal objects mean one's own body and organs. Impersonal or external objects means one's own relations, such as father, mother, and so forth: and one's own possessions.

"Fantasy by conceit" means high imagination of personal objects expressed as "I", "I am". When it is supported or encouraged, so to speak, by personal attributes and impersonal objects, it becomes aggressively haughty and fantastically conceited.

Here, personal attributes means vigor or plentitude of eyes, ears, hands, legs, virtue, intuition, knowledge, power and so forth. Impersonal objects means plentitude of families, relations, surroundings, dwellings possessions and so forth.

"Fantasy by error" means over-estimation of personal objects as "My Frame-work; My Principle; My Pith; My Substance; My Soul; My Quintessence." In the expressions: "earthen pots" and earthen bowls", it is understood that earth is the substance of which these pots and bowls are made, and the very earth so made, so shaped, is again called pots and bowls. In the expressions "Iron pots" and "iron bowls", and so forth, it is also understood that iron is the substance from which iron pots and bowls are made, and the very iron, so made, so shaped is again called pots and bowls. In exactly the same way that in these instances earth or iron is the substance from which the vessels are made, so, assuming the Element of Extension, the earth-element which pertains to the personality or the substance of living beings, of the "I" this fanciful estimation of the facts of the case arises:

"The Element of Extension is the living being: the Element of Extension is the "I". What is here said in connection with the Element of Extension is in like manner to be understood in connection with the Element of Cohesion, the liquid element, and all other elements found in a corporeal existence. This over-estimation or fantastic imagination will be expounded at greater length further on.

These three kinds of fantasy are also called the three Gahas, or three Holds, to indicate their power of holding tightly and firmly. Since also they multiply erroneous, mistaken actions which tend gradually but continuously to increase past all limits and never incline to cease; they are also called three Papancas or Three Multipliers.