[Grapappytek]

Mano serves as the third door of action (along with body and speech)

Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā, manoseṭṭhā manomayā;
Manasā ce paduṭṭhena, bhāsati vā karoti vā;
Tato naṃ dukkhamanveti, cakkaṃva vahato padaṃ.

Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā, manoseṭṭhā manomayā;
Manasā ce pasannena, bhāsati vā karoti vā;
Tato naṃ sukhamanveti, chāyāva anapāyinī

Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought.
If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts
Suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.

Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought.
If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts
Happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow. OK...this is becoming clearer now

it the suttas, when the three kinds of unskilful & skilful action are mentioned, the word used for mental action is 'mano'

so 'mano' is the intellect, similar to the faculty of wisdom (including when it is ignorant), which facilities the modes of action

thus Dhammapada Chapter One seems to be mundane dhamma about karma, rather than the profundity it is often regarded to be



kāyasucaritaṃ, vacīsucaritaṃ, manosucaritaṃ

good bodily conduct, good verbal conduct, good mental conduct

kāyaduccaritaṃ, vacīduccaritaṃ, manoduccaritaṃ

bad bodily conduct, bad verbal conduct, bad mental conduct

MN 60 Tīṇi kho ahaṃ, tapassi, kammāni paññapemi pāpassa kammassa kiriyāya pāpassa kammassa pavattiyā, seyyathidaṃ – kāyakammaṃ, vacīkammaṃ, manokamma’

Tapassi, I describe three kinds of action for the performance of action, for the perpetration of action; that is, bodily action, verbal action and mental action

MN 56