The Sutra of the Father and Son Collection: Commentary VII

The Provisional Self of Sentient Beings Cannot Exist Apart from the Six Elements

A provisional self possessing the five aggregates and eighteen realms is designated as a sentient being. Where there are the five aggregates, there is contact: the eye contacts form-dust, the ear contacts sound-dust, the nose contacts scent-dust, the tongue contacts taste-dust, the body contacts touch-dust, and the mental faculty contacts dhamma-dust. These constitute the six bases of contact. Among these, the five sense faculties (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body) are formed from the first five of the six elements. Form, sound, scent, taste, and touch are also formed from the first five elements. The last one, the mental faculty (manas), is the discriminating mind, generated from the element of consciousness (vijñāna-dhātu), the seed-consciousness of the great element of consciousness. After contact occurs, the six consciousnesses arise. Only then can sensations, thoughts, discriminations, judgments, and mental formations arise; then there arise delusional thoughts, plans, and the capacity to make decisions.

Within the eighteen realms, the six faculties contact the six dusts, giving rise to the six consciousnesses. Once the six consciousnesses are produced, we possess the discriminating nature of the conscious mind, enabling the activities of the five aggregates. Among them, the five sense faculties and the six dusts are composed of the five elements: earth, water, fire, wind, and space. The mental faculty and the six consciousnesses are formed from the element of consciousness. Both the six bases of contact and the eighteen realms cannot exist apart from the six elements. This means the provisional self of sentient beings cannot exist apart from the six elements; it is born and exists dependent on the six elements as conditions.