The Relationship Between Rūpa-kāya and Citta

The condition of the physical body can affect the six consciousnesses and the mental faculty. The body faculty is merely like a piece of wood composed of the Four Elements, possessing no awareness or sensation. If the body could feel, then a corpse should also have sensations, and wood or stone should likewise have sensations. What can feel must be the Consciousness Mind, not material form.

The body and mind mutually influence each other. Because the state of the Four Elements in the body varies, the internal six dusts manifested by the Tathagatagarbha based on it also differ—especially the tactile sensations. Consequently, the perceptions of the Consciousness Mind differ, thoughts and behaviors differ, and decisions made differ.

Similarly, the Consciousness Mind can also influence and alter the material Four Elements of the body. If the mental faculty believes it can accomplish certain things and possesses strong willpower, even if the physical body's condition is not optimal, it can still perform well, and the state of the physical body can also change.