Brief Discussion on Material Elements (Draft)

12. When looking into a mirror, what is the relationship between the reflection in the mirror and the mirror itself? What is the relationship between the image in the mirror and the forms outside the mirror?

The reflections in the mirror are the appearances seen by the eye consciousness, one's own voice heard by the ear consciousness, one's own scent smelled by the nose consciousness, the taste objects in one's own mouth tasted by the tongue consciousness, the tactile objects within the body felt by the body consciousness, and the five aggregates with feeling (pañca-upādāna-skandha) discerned by the mind consciousness. This also includes the master-like agency of the seventh consciousness (manas), and all the activities of the seventh consciousness.

The seeing nature of the five consciousnesses that the sixth consciousness (manovijñāna) can observe, the seeing nature of the seventh consciousness, as well as the seeing nature of the mind consciousness itself, and the realms of the five aggregates and six sense objects observed by the mind consciousness — all of these are reflections. The reflections are born and manifested by the mirror; they are images transmitted forth by the mirror. The mirror truly exists forever without perishing, while the reflections arise and cease moment by moment; even while they exist, they are not truly real — they are empty and illusory. The image and the form correspond one-to-one, resembling each other; the image is transformed from the form, comes from the form, and exists in dependence on the form. The two are neither the same nor different; apart from the form, there is no image.