The World of Black Boxes
Chapter Six: The Secret of the Interaction Among the Faculties, Objects, and Consciousness
I. Classification of the Six Faculties
The six faculties are classified into internal faculties and external faculties, as well as material faculties and immaterial faculties. The first five faculties are material faculties, composed of the seeds of the four great elements (earth, water, fire, wind), forming material faculties with form. The mental faculty is an immaterial faculty, not composed of the seeds of the four great elements, not belonging to material dharmas. It is mind, it is consciousness, possessing the functions of mental discrimination and recognition.
The five faculties include the superficial faculties (floating-dust faculties) and the supramundane faculties (ultimate faculties). The superficial faculties are the external faculties, floating on the surface of the body, visible to others. The supramundane faculties are the internal faculties, located in the brain region, invisible to others but visible to the divine eye. When emphasizing the surface, the five faculties refer to the superficial faculties, excluding the supramundane faculties; when referring to all functional attributes of the five faculties, they include the supramundane faculties; sometimes the emphasis is specifically on the supramundane faculties, depending on the context. The brain region is the supramundane faculty, responsible for contacting internal objects, upon which the eighth consciousness then produces the six consciousnesses.
II. The Relationship Among the Five Faculties
The bodily faculty includes organs and parts on the body; whatever grows on the body belongs to the bodily faculty. Eyes, ears, nose, and tongue are on the head of the body and are part of the bodily faculty. However, when the eye functions to see, it is the eye faculty, not the bodily faculty; when the ear functions to hear, it is the ear faculty, not belonging to the bodily faculty; when the nose functions to smell scents, it is the nose faculty, not belonging to the bodily faculty; when the tongue functions to taste flavors, it is the tongue faculty, not belonging to the bodily faculty.
Does the eye belong to the eye faculty or the bodily faculty? Does the ear belong to the ear faculty or the bodily faculty? Does the nose belong to the nose faculty or the bodily faculty? Does the tongue belong to the tongue faculty or the bodily faculty? Is blinking the function of the bodily faculty or the eye faculty? Is it the activity of bodily consciousness or eye consciousness? Blinking is the movement of the bodily faculty, an act of bodily consciousness, not eye consciousness. The function of eye consciousness is to see forms; blinking is not seeing forms, it is the activity of a certain part of the body. Although it is the activity of the eyes, it does not involve seeing forms, so it is not the function of eye consciousness. When the eye, ear, nose, and tongue are not functioning to see forms, hear sounds, smell scents, or taste flavors, these four faculties, being located on the bodily faculty, belong to the bodily faculty. Only when they perform their primary function are they the primary faculty; when not performing their primary function, they belong to the bodily faculty.
Similarly, ear pain is the function of the bodily faculty, a sensation of bodily consciousness, not the function of the ear faculty, not a sensation of ear consciousness. Because the ear faculty functions to hear sounds, ear consciousness experiences sensation upon hearing sounds, whereas pain is a sensation on the bodily faculty. Itchiness in the nose is the same, pain in the tongue is the same, all are sensations of bodily consciousness. If the nose is cut off, the tongue is cut off, the ears are cut off, or the eyes are damaged, these are acts of damaging the bodily faculty. If the functional capability of the primary faculty is simultaneously impaired, it also means damaging the eye faculty, ear faculty, nose faculty, and tongue faculty.
III. The Secret of the Eye Seeing Forms
The issue of the Tathāgatagarbha manifesting the internal perceived division is extremely profound in Dharma meaning, involving the deep principles of Consciousness-Only. For example, regarding external form objects, our eye faculty does not go to the form object, does not contact the substantial form object, yet we see the form object. The form does not reach the eye, the eye does not reach the form, yet we can see the form—this is indeed strange. Looking at a distant mountain, that mountain is very far from our eye faculty; our eye faculty certainly cannot go there, nor has the mountain come to our eye faculty, yet we see that mountain. This is indeed very strange. Here lies the secret of Consciousness-Only, involving the issue of seed wisdom (jñāna). This secret is profoundly deep.
For example, that distant mountain outside, who manifests it? It is co-manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha of sentient beings sharing collective karma. After manifestation, the Tathāgatagarbha of all sentient beings sharing collective karma jointly upholds that mountain. Does our Tathāgatagarbha participate in the external mountain? Of course! We are also one of the sentient beings sharing collective karma. When we see that mountain, that mountain is related to us; our Tathāgatagarbha also participates in manifesting it, participates in upholding that mountain—that is the external perceived division.
As for the internal perceived division, that mountain is composed of the seeds of the four great elements (earth, water, fire, wind). When we want to see it, our own Tathāgatagarbha contacts the external mountain and extracts the minute particles of the four great elements from that mountain. After extracting the particles, they are transmitted all the way to our eye faculty, to the eyeball, into the vitreous body, to the optic nerve, and to the supramundane faculty in the back of our brain. The Tathāgatagarbha immediately transforms these particles into the manifest form of the internal perceived division. Even if we do not wish to see, the Tathāgatagarbha will still manifest the image of that mountain at the supramundane faculty in the back of our brain. Whether we see or not depends on the decision of the mental faculty.
The external perceived division of that mountain is jointly upheld by the Tathāgatagarbha of sentient beings sharing collective karma. The mountain in our internal perceived division is the shadow manifested by our own Tathāgatagarbha based on the external perceived division. The transformation of the external perceived division into the internal perceived division contains even more profound secrets, involving the deep issue of Consciousness-Only seed wisdom.
The mountain we see has so many secrets, and the entire process of seeing the mountain has even more secrets. How does the Tathāgatagarbha uphold the external mountain? It is by all sentient beings' Tathāgatagarbha collectively, moment by moment, outputting seeds of the four great elements to jointly create, uphold, and change that mountain. That mountain is also changing moment by moment, so after thousands or tens of thousands of years, that mountain will also change and disappear. The so-called sea turning into mulberry fields, mulberry fields turning into sea—this is the principle.
The entire great earth, the universe, the vessel world, are all changing. Why do they change? Because they are influenced by the karmic conditions of sentient beings. Therefore, the Tathāgatagarbha of all sentient beings sharing collective karma will moment by moment output seeds of the four great elements, jointly creating and maintaining these external perceived divisions composed of earth, water, fire, and wind—mountains, waters, the universe, the vessel world, etc. The relationships here are particularly complex and difficult to explain clearly.
When the Tathāgatagarbha of an individual sentient being conditions that mountain, the Tathāgatagarbha will extract the minute particles of the four great elements corresponding to that sentient being's own karma. If the sentient being has more wholesome karma, the manifested internal perceived division is slightly more perfect; if there is more unwholesome karma, the manifested internal perceived division is inferior and defective. Each person's karmic obstructions are different. After extracting the minute particles of the four great elements of that mountain, because the extracted particles of the four great elements differ, the manifested internal perceived division differs. The internal perceived division is also manifested based on the karmic seeds and karmic force of sentient beings. The mountains, rivers, and great earth seen in each person's eyes are different. The same mountain, some see it as very beautiful, some see it as not beautiful. This is related to blessings, karmic force, mental state, etc.
When an Arhat enters the remainderless nirvāṇa, the part of the external perceived division of mountains, rivers, and great earth that his Tathāgatagarbha participated in manifesting disappears accordingly. However, sentient beings do not perceive the change in the external perceived division, simply because there are too many sentient beings participating in manifesting the external perceived division. When the Arhat's Tathāgatagarbha withdraws all of its four great elements, the change in the external perceived division is not obvious, so we do not perceive it. Only the Buddha and the great Bodhisattvas can perceive it.
IV. The Secret of the Tathāgatagarbha Transmitting Particles of the External Perceived Division
Because the Tathāgatagarbha has seeds of form dharmas and personally participates in manifesting material form dharmas, it can contact the external perceived division mountain, directly condition that mountain, and extract the minute particles of the four great elements. After extracting them, it can transmit them through some obstacles to the superficial faculties and supramundane faculties of the eye. Therefore, when we look at the external mountain through a window, we can see the mountain of the internal perceived division. The more obstacles in between, the more the particles of the four great elements are blocked, the more they are altered during transmission to the supramundane faculty, and the more distorted and unclear the shadow of the internal perceived division becomes.
The minute particles of the four great elements extracted by the Tathāgatagarbha can penetrate all realms without obstruction. When sentient beings lack the divine eye, the six consciousnesses cannot perceive the substance-supported realm beyond the supramundane faculties, so what they see is limited. Those with spiritual powers, using the divine eye, can see form objects in the distant universe vessel world through walls and other obstacles; they can see objects throughout the entire universe vessel world, including hells and heavenly palaces. Those with the divine eye have unobstructed vision. Their mental consciousness can perceive all dharmas seen by the mental faculty. The mental faculty can perceive dharmas conditioned and again illusorily manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha, unimpeded by any space, time, or material form dharmas, because all objects, no matter how vast, are illusory and unreal. With deep meditative concentration, the six consciousnesses can be unimpeded by illusory objects.
Our external eye faculty—the superficial faculty of the eye, the vitreous body of the eyeball—can also contact the external mountain and all objects composed of the four great elements. Those are particles extracted by the Tathāgatagarbha and transmitted to the eye faculty; otherwise, the eye faculty cannot contact them. Particles can also be called photons. Why do photons move? Because the Tathāgatagarbha moment by moment outputs seeds of the four great elements, forming particles or photons. Particles are also momentariness arising and ceasing—this one arises, that one ceases; this one ceases, that one arises. The phenomenon of photons arising and ceasing one after another forms the function of transmission.
The particles are transmitted in this way. The momentum of transmission gradually weakens, the transmission energy decreases, and finally transmission stops. The particles formed by the momentariness arising and ceasing seeds of the four great elements—photons—also arise and cease moment by moment. One photon after another, like a relay baton, is transmitted through the vitreous body of the eyeball to the supramundane faculty of the eye, forming form appearances. The Tathāgatagarbha then gives rise to eye consciousness and mental consciousness, and we can see the external scenery.
V. The Secret of the Contact Between Faculty and Object
Particles form an image in the supramundane faculty at the back of the brain through the retina, landing on the supramundane faculty. The supramundane faculty is like a plate; the transmitted photon particles are like beans. The beans land precisely in the plate; the two come together, and faculty and object contact each other. The particles of the four great elements landing in the supramundane faculty form the image of the internal perceived division; this image is the manifest form. The form object contacts the faculty; there is no question of who actively contacts whom or not. This is the principle of contact as-it-is.
As soon as faculty and object contact, the Tathāgatagarbha gives rise to the corresponding consciousness to cognize the object realm. If the mental faculty is not interested in the fallen form object, it will not attend to the current form object, nor will it generate the mental factor of volition to cognize it. The Tathāgatagarbha will not cooperate with the mental faculty to produce eye consciousness and mental consciousness to cognize the form object. However, in the first, second, and third moments, the form object will still fall into the supramundane faculty, and eye consciousness and mental consciousness can still cognize it. When the mental faculty is not interested, eye consciousness and mental consciousness will try to avoid this kind of form object and will no longer discriminate it. It is also possible that the two consciousnesses cease regarding this form object and turn to other form objects.
Hearing sounds with the ear is also like this. In the first, second, and third moments, the sound must enter the ear faculty; ear consciousness unconsciously hears the sound. If the mental faculty feels it should not listen, it will divert or disperse attention, or extinguish the conscious mind, not listening to the sound. Of course, there are times when mental consciousness is not interested, or ear consciousness wants to avoid it; the thought is transmitted to the mental faculty, and the mental faculty decides not to listen. As a result, it seems there is no sound, or the sound is not noticed. This all depends on whether the mental faculty is interested or not, whether it attends or not. If the mental faculty attends and generates the mental factor of volition, the Tathāgatagarbha knows and will give rise to eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, bodily consciousness, and mental consciousness to cognize the six objects of the internal perceived division.
The Tathāgatagarbha transmits the form object to the supramundane faculty at the back of the brain, giving rise to manifest form, shape form, expressive form, and non-expressive form. The form object and form dharmas appear; faculty and object then contact. If the mental faculty attends to this dharmas object and generates the mental factor of volition, the Tathāgatagarbha will manifest mental consciousness to cognize this dharmas object. Mental consciousness arises slightly later than eye consciousness, arising after eye consciousness. Although mental consciousness arises slightly later than eye consciousness, these two consciousnesses feel almost simultaneous to us. The moment-by-moment arising and ceasing of the two consciousnesses allows them to cognize the form object together. If the mental faculty does not attend, does not wish to cognize this dharmas object, eye consciousness will not manifest, nor will mental consciousness manifest. When the form object comes, we cannot see the form; we do not know there is form.
VI. How Internal Sound Objects Are Formed
Sound, this kind of minute particles of the four great elements, can penetrate walls and some obstacles; walls and other obstacles cannot block the propagation and permeation of these particles. These particles are extracted by the Tathāgatagarbha from the distant sound and then transmitted all the way to the ear faculty, the eardrum, and finally to the supramundane faculty of the ear in the brain, forming the internal sound object. This contacts the internal ear faculty, giving rise to ear consciousness. The mental faculty contacts the dharmas object, giving rise to mental consciousness. Ear consciousness discriminates its coarse vibration phenomena, while mental consciousness discriminates the subtle dharmas objects on the sound object.
The connotations, nature, attributes, distance, pleasant/unpleasant aspects, etc., of various sounds are subtle dharmas called dharmas objects. After the dharmas object arises, whether the mental faculty attends or not depends on whether it is interested in the dharmas object. If interested, it decides to cognize, and the Tathāgatagarbha will manifest mental consciousness to cognize together with ear consciousness. If the mental faculty is not interested, it decides to avoid and not cognize; the Tathāgatagarbha does not give rise to ear consciousness and mental consciousness, not cognizing this sound. Therefore, even though there is sound, we do not hear it. In states of meditative absorption, or states focused on other matters, or states of no-mind, etc., we do not hear certain sounds.
VII. Division of Supramundane Faculty Regions
The brain's supramundane faculty area is divided into several regions. The five objects are respectively manifested in five of these regions. Outside the five object regions, there is a region for the dharmas objects on the five objects; the five kinds of form included in the mental base are respectively manifested therein. If one region is impaired, the other regions can still function, and their functions may increase. For example, if the form object region of the eye faculty is damaged and cannot see forms, its functional energy might transfer to the other faculties. Perhaps hearing becomes sharper, perhaps smell becomes more acute, perhaps touch becomes more sensitive.
The manifest form of the internal perceived division manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha in the form object region contacts the eye faculty; it is the object discriminated by eye consciousness. The form object region is called the supramundane faculty of the eye. There is also the supramundane faculty of the ear, the supramundane faculty of the nose, the supramundane faculty of the tongue, and the supramundane faculty of the body. These are respectively the locations where the coarse internal perceived divisions of sound objects, smell objects, taste objects, and touch objects are formed. The five supramundane faculties are these five regions, including the region where dharmas objects arise and the region where image-only objects arise.
At the supramundane faculty of the eye, manifest form is manifested. Based on the manifest form, in another region—the mental base entrance—the subtle dharmas objects manifested on the manifest form are manifested: shape form, expressive form, non-expressive form. This mental base entrance region is the location where the eye-accompanying mental consciousness arises. In the ear faculty region, coarse sound objects are manifested; then in the dharmas object region, subtle dharmas objects of sound are manifested, giving rise to ear-accompanying mental consciousness. Thus, the five-accompanying mental consciousness have five locations. Modern medicine also mentions that the five-accompanying mental consciousness arising together with the first five consciousnesses each have their own sensory regions.
The location of the brain is special; it is where the five supramundane faculties receive the internal five objects, and also where dharmas objects and the six consciousnesses arise. If a certain part of the brain is damaged, one of the functions of seeing, hearing, feeling, and knowing disappears and cannot function. Either unable to see forms, or unable to hear sounds, or unable to smell scents, or unable to taste flavors, or unable to feel touch, or unable to walk. The internal form object arises precisely at the supramundane faculty of the eye; the internal sound object arises precisely at the supramundane faculty of the ear. The five objects each arise within their corresponding supramundane faculties.
After the internal five objects arise, they contact the supramundane faculties. Contact—there is no saying who actively contacts or is passively contacted. For example, a pot of flowers: there is soil in the flowerpot, flowers grow from the soil. Who contacts whom, the flowers or the flowerpot? Certainly, as soon as the flowers arise, they contact the flowerpot. There is no "who contacts whom"; it is mutual, simultaneous contact; they meet together simultaneously.
When the six consciousnesses arise, they actively contact the six objects because conscious minds have subjective initiative and selectivity. The six faculties and six objects are always in contact. Before the six consciousnesses arise, the consciousness seeds will attend to the corresponding object realm, then appear at the point where faculty and object contact, forming the six consciousnesses. The six consciousnesses then participate in the contact between faculty and object. The three—faculty, object, consciousness—combine in contact; the six consciousnesses can then receive and experience the six objects, after which other mental factors arise and operate.
Once the above content is clear, one will know the matter inside the black box. The six objects we discriminate are all at the supramundane faculty black box. Faculty and object contact; the object does not leave the faculty because the position of the supramundane faculty never changes. The internal six objects—form objects, sound objects, smell objects, taste objects, touch objects, dharmas objects—manifested secondarily by the Tathāgatagarbha, all appear at that location. Therefore, the myriad dharmas of the world we discriminate, the universe, the vessel world, etc.—all internal six objects—are at the black box.
VIII. The Supramundane Faculty Black Box is the Entire World Discriminated by the Six Consciousnesses
Where do the six consciousnesses appear? Certainly also at the supramundane faculty where faculty and object contact. Although conscious minds are formless and without specific location, not inside, outside, or in the middle of the physical body, the Tathāgatagarbha transmits the consciousness seeds to the supramundane faculty at the point of contact between faculty and object. Then the six consciousnesses discriminate the vast sky and the immense universe vessel world within this black box, discriminating all dharmas within the physical body.
The realm of the internal perceived division six objects in the black box area is the entire world where our mind roams. Although there are many other dharmas objects beyond this, those are dharmas that the seventh consciousness alone contacts and discriminates. Because the six consciousnesses are obscured by ignorance, when constrained, they can only discriminate the content within this black box, or perhaps only an extremely small part of this content, maybe not even clearly. This is the pitiful karmic retribution of ignorant sentient beings.
Therefore, all discriminating and cognizing activities of our six consciousnesses are conducted at the black box. Even the touch object on the body's toe is transmitted to the supramundane faculty, becoming a re-illusioned image. Bodily consciousness and mental consciousness also discriminate the image of the toe at the supramundane faculty; they cannot directly discriminate the toe beyond the supramundane faculty. The supramundane faculty black box is the entire world discriminated by the six consciousnesses.
If we can contemplate and realize this point, we will know how illusory the faculties are, how illusory the objects are, how illusory the consciousnesses are. Which is not momentariness arising and ceasing? All are momentariness arising and ceasing. The faculties are composed of the four great elements, moment by moment arising and ceasing. The objects are composed of the four great elements, even more moment by moment arising and ceasing. As for consciousness, one consciousness seed arises and ceases, ceases and arises, also momentariness arising and ceasing. What is there that does not arise and cease? All myriad dharmas in this world are impermanent.
The external mountains, rivers, and great earth, the form objects, sound objects, taste objects, smell objects, touch objects, etc., of the external perceived division, are all jointly produced, manifested, and maintained by the Tathāgatagarbha of all sentient beings. When our Tathāgatagarbha conditions that external perceived division, it extracts the four great elements from that external perceived division, forming particles that become photons, which are continuously transmitted through the superficial faculties of the five faculties and the transmission nerves to the supramundane faculties. Then faculty and object contact, the Tathāgatagarbha gives rise to the six consciousnesses, which then cognize the shadow of the external mountains, rivers, and great earth. Thus, we take these shadows as real external dharmas, clinging to them in countless ways, constantly scheming and calculating.
Regardless of whether the mental faculty attends or not, decides or not, the Tathāgatagarbha always transforms external form objects into internal form objects, transforms external five objects into internal five objects through the first five faculties. It's just that if the mental faculty does not grasp, does not generate the mental factor of volition, the Tathāgatagarbha does not manifest the six consciousnesses to contact the internal six objects. The manifestation of the internal perceived division does not occur because the mental faculty attends; it is not like that. The internal six objects always exist; they are present at all times. As long as the five faculties exist and are intact, the internal six objects exist.
As long as the eye faculty exists, regardless of whether the external form object is significant or not, the Tathāgatagarbha constantly transmits the external form object through the eye faculty, transmitting it to the supramundane faculty. When the mental faculty attends, wanting to see, the Tathāgatagarbha manifests eye consciousness and mental consciousness. After eye consciousness and mental consciousness discriminate the internal perceived division, they transmit the information to the mental faculty. The mental faculty then discriminates the information, and after discriminating, it attends again and decides. After deciding what to do next, the Tathāgatagarbha knows. Simultaneously, the consciousness seeds of eye consciousness, mental consciousness, and the seventh consciousness return to the eighth consciousness. In this way, the discriminated information is brought back into the Tathāgatagarbha. Then the Tathāgatagarbha stores this information; this is called storing seeds, recording karmic actions. The external form objects and external five objects are co-manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha of sentient beings sharing collective karma. The internal six objects are individually manifested by our own Tathāgatagarbha; they are the shadows of the external five objects. There is a difference between internal and external six objects.
IX. The Principle of Interaction Between Faculty and Object
The external six objects constantly exist in the universe, co-produced and co-upheld by the Tathāgatagarbha of all sentient beings. The upholding method uses seeds of the four great elements to uphold them. Among them, the seeds of the four great elements moment by moment arise, moment by moment cease. The external six objects realm similarly moment by moment arises, moment by moment ceases. In the process of the four great elements seeds arising and ceasing, they radiate outwards into their respective Tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, we feel that there is a magnetic field around matter.
When the Tathāgatagarbha extracts the minute particles of the four great elements, when we want to see, it transmits them through the various nervous systems of the five faculties. For example, through the vitreous body in the eyes, the nerve transmission system, it transmits the minute particles of the four great elements radiated by external matter all the way to the supramundane faculty inside the eye. The internal form object lands there, and then faculty and object contact.
In this process, the mental faculty can first cognize roughly what dharma it is. When it wants to discriminate subtly, it gives rise to eye consciousness and mental consciousness to accomplish this. If it does not want to discriminate subtly, the six consciousnesses do not know. That is to say, there are many dharmas in the supramundane faculty; when the mental faculty does not want to discriminate them, the six consciousnesses do not know them. Then we cannot see those dharmas transformed from the external six objects.
The dharmas transmitted through the ear faculty are also like this, and even the dharmas transmitted through the bodily faculty are like this. During the transmission process, dharmas objects also follow along, generating the internal six objects. The internal six objects somewhat resemble the external six objects, or are very similar. Discriminating the internal six objects is like discriminating the reflection in a mirror, while the unseen external six objects are like the actual objects outside the mirror. Those actual objects are composed of the four great elements; only the Tathāgatagarbha itself can condition them; the seven consciousness minds cannot condition them. Only after the Tathāgatagarbha, like a mirror, illusorily transforms the six objects' essence, projecting a shadow, can the seven consciousness minds discriminate this part.
X. The Harmonious Contact of Faculty, Object, and Consciousness
The mental dharmas are the seven consciousnesses. The form dharmas are the five faculties and six objects. Faculty, object, and consciousness belong to the three realms dharmas; they are dharmas of three different boundaries. "Boundary" means limit. The boundaries are different; according to the principles of the worldly realm, this means they do not connect, cannot fuse together, cannot harmoniously operate together. Actually, the contact between the consciousness realm and the form realm, different realms, cannot be understood from the worldly realm perspective as similar to hand touching hand, or hand touching material form dharmas—that kind of touching, contacting contact. The extremely profound Dharma of Consciousness-Only seed wisdom cannot be explained or understood from the perspective of worldly dharmas no matter what; the thinking mode of the worldly realm can never solve the problem of Consciousness-Only. It is necessary for the sixth and seventh consciousnesses to transform consciousness into wisdom, transforming the cognitive thinking mode of the worldly realm consciousness into the non-worldly cognitive thinking mode of wisdom, to gradually solve the problem of Consciousness-Only seed wisdom.
How to contemplate the harmonious contact of faculty, object, and consciousness from the Consciousness-Only seed wisdom perspective? We should know that although faculty, object, and consciousness have different boundaries and are different kinds of dharmas, they have a common part: all are composed and formed from the seven great seeds within the Tathāgatagarbha. The seven great seeds have an equal, parallel, side-by-side relationship; their attributes differ, but there are no boundaries; they can completely fuse and contact, giving rise to all dharmas according to the minds of sentient beings, as the Buddha said in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. This makes it easy to understand the question of whether dharmas of different realms can contact each other.
The seven great seeds are all formless and without characteristics; none involve the kind of contact like material form dharmas in the worldly realm. Therefore, they also do not involve the question of contact or no contact. Then the faculty, object, and consciousness formed are not contact in the worldly dharmas sense. Even when explained this way, many people still find it difficult to understand because the gap between worldly dharmas and Buddhadharma is too vast. Profound Buddhadharma often transcends one's imagination. As the Buddha said, Buddhadharma is not attained through conjecture or speculation; it must be realized through direct experience.
The seven great seeds, formless and without characteristics, when outputted to form faculty, object, and consciousness—do they have form and characteristics? So-called form and characteristics refer to the appearance visible to the worldly physical eye. From the actual ground of principle, from the perspective of ultimate truth, all dharmas lack the appearance of the worldly realm; they are all the characteristics of ultimate truth, invisible to the physical eye. To see is to have an eye disease; diseased eyes see flowers in space, as the Buddha said in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra.
Consciousness minds are formless and without characteristics, invisible to the physical eye, can only be perceived by mental consciousness, and finally allow the mental faculty to also know. Faculty and object are form dharmas; they have form, shape, and characteristics, visible to the physical eye. Faculty and object are form dharmas of the same attribute; they can contact like hand touching foot. Consciousness minds then contact the faculty-object contact point, like a mirror contacting an image. The image is not substantial form dharmas; the mirror can contact and manifest it. Non-substantial form dharmas images can appear in the mirror of the seven consciousness minds without obstruction. Who can contact substantial form dharmas? Only the Tathāgatagarbha can contact such substantial form dharmas and the most original form dharmas.
These operating principles and rules of ultimate truth are fundamentally impossible for us to understand or imagine from the perspective of conventional truth. Therefore, the Buddha does not allow us to imagine or intellectually comprehend through emotion and thought; he instructs us to realize through direct experience after perfecting precepts, meditation, and wisdom. Only those who have realized can tacitly understand each other, because those on the path share the same understanding, those on the path share the same view.
Consciousness minds accumulated from consciousness seeds fall upon form dharmas of faculties and objects piled up from the five great seeds. Seeds have no worldly realm appearance at all; how can the formed faculties, objects, and consciousness have appearance? If the initial, original form dharmas had appearance, how could the Tathāgatagarbha contact, recognize, transmit, manifest, and display them? If the initial, original form dharmas have no appearance, how can the manifested image form dharmas, the form dharmas images, have appearance? All are dharmas without appearance. Faculty, object, and consciousness can completely contact each other. Consciousness minds can completely manifest and discriminate faculties and objects, thereby giving rise to illusory joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, grief, and suffering feelings.
Faculty, object, and consciousness are dharmas appearing in the black box world, illusory and unreal, seen by diseased eyes.
XI. The Secret of Sound Propagation
Regarding the function of the eye seeing forms, the Buddha said in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra that the merit of the eye faculty is only eight hundred, not the full twelve hundred; it is only two-thirds of the twelve hundred merits. This is because the eye faculty has non-universal aspects; form objects behind the body cannot be seen by the eye faculty. The ear faculty hearing sounds is universal; it can hear sounds from all directions, through walls, from far away, behind the body—sounds from anywhere can be heard. Therefore, the ear faculty perfectly possesses the twelve hundred merits.
The principle of the ear hearing sounds is the same as the principle of the eye seeing forms. Sound is also a material form dharma composed of seeds of the four great elements. When the Tathāgatagarbha conditions sound, it also extracts minute particles of the four great elements from the sound and transmits them to the supramundane faculty of the ear. Faculty and object contact; then the Tathāgatagarbha gives rise to ear consciousness and mental consciousness to cognize the sound. Sounds emitted from our own body relate only to our own Tathāgatagarbha; they are individually manifested by our own Tathāgatagarbha.
However, when we hear sounds transmitted from the outside or hear sounds emitted by others, our own Tathāgatagarbha extracts minute particles of the four great elements from the sound emitted by other sentient beings, transmits them to the supramundane faculty, transforming them into the sound of the internal perceived division that we hear. Faculty and object contact; the Tathāgatagarbha then gives rise to ear consciousness and mental consciousness to cognize the sound object. First, ear consciousness cognizes in the first moment; then mental consciousness cognizes in the second moment. Then the two combine to cognize together, thus it seems as if we hear the sound of others.
The various sounds emitted by objects, or various sounds emitted in the universe's empty space, are co-created by the Tathāgatagarbha of sentient beings sharing collective karma and jointly upheld. Our Tathāgatagarbha, according to its own karmic conditions, extracts these sound objects to form minute particles of the four great elements, also momentariness arising and ceasing—this one ceases, that one arises. The location where the seeds of the four great elements arise slightly changes successively. Thus, we perceive the sound object as if it is continuously moving and changing. Actually, it is momentariness arising and ceasing; because the arising and ceasing is too rapid, we cannot perceive the true phenomenon of arising and ceasing; we can only see the false appearance as if it is not arising and ceasing.
All impermanent minute particles of the four great elements seem to be continuously transmitting. Actually, the particles of the four great elements in the next moment are not the particles of the previous moment; they have already slightly changed. When transmitted to the ear faculty, the change in the four great elements can become more obvious. Thus, the minute particles of the four great elements of sound are transmitted all the way to the ear faculty. Transmitted from a very distant place, their transmission energy slowly decreases; the farther the distance, the smaller and weaker the transmitted sound becomes, as if the energy is insufficient, the momentum of transmission becomes weaker and weaker. Actually, it is that the material form dharma of sound has changed; the four great elements are different.
There is no such thing as "energy." So-called energy is material particles composed of the four great elements, such as photons, electrons, neutrons, protons, etc. They are constantly arising, ceasing, and changing—this ceasing, that arising—one after another, as if there is energy. Moreover, these particles arise, cease, and change along certain orbits, as if matter is moving along a track. In the surface movement of particles, the seeds of the four great elements are constantly changing. When we see this, we feel it is a transformation of energy. But the role the Tathāgatagarbha plays within this, we do not know, do not see; we only know the surface phenomenon. This is ignorance.
