Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra, Volume 9 (The Twelve Links of Dependent Origination)

(V) Original Text: What are the four great elements? They are the earth, water, fire, and wind elements. These all pertain to the two realms (of desire and form). What are the forms produced by the four great elements? They are the ten sense-fields and the form included in the dharma-ayatana. The desire realm possesses all ten (sense-fields) as well as the provisional form included in the dharma-ayatana. The form realm possesses eight (sense-fields) and the form included in the dharma-ayatana. However, this does not apply to everything. This also has two kinds: name-and-form as seeds, which are the seeds embraced by consciousness seeds, and the resultant name-and-form produced from them.

Explanation: What are the four great elements? The earth, water, fire, and wind elements are the four great elements. They all pertain to the desire realm and the form realm, as both these realms possess material dharmas (rūpa-dharma). The formless realm lacks material dharmas, hence the four great elements do not pertain to it. What material forms do the combined four great elements produce? They produce ten kinds of material forms and the form included in the dharma-ayatana. In the desire realm, it possesses ten material forms: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, the eye faculty, the ear faculty, the nose faculty, the tongue faculty, the body faculty, as well as this provisional dharmic form included in the dharma-ayatana. In the form realm, there are eight material forms: sight, sound, touch, the eye faculty, the ear faculty, the nose faculty, the tongue faculty, the body faculty, and the provisional form included in the dharma-ayatana.

However, the four great elements do not pertain to all dharmas; there are other dharmas to which the four great elements do not pertain. Only consciousness seeds can pertain to them. The first kind of dharma is name-and-form in the seed state, embraced by consciousness seeds. The seeds have not yet manifested, and name-and-form has not yet arisen; this refers to the intermediate state (antarābhava) body. The second kind of dharma is the resultant karmic retribution name-and-form produced from consciousness seeds. Both the four great elements seeds and the consciousness seeds are seeds within the ālayavijñāna (storehouse consciousness). The two exist in a parallel and equal relationship, together constituting the five aggregates (skandhas) of name-and-form. The tangible form (rūpa) is formed by the four great elements seeds, while the intangible name (nāma) is formed by the consciousness seeds.

Original Text: What is the eye-ayatana? It is the clear form (visual faculty) upon which eye-consciousness depends. By this, colors are seen in the past, are seen in the present, and will be seen in the future. As with the eye-ayatana, so too with the ear-ayatana, nose-ayatana, tongue-ayatana, body-ayatana, and even the mind-ayatana, each should be understood accordingly according to its function. In all cases, the three temporal distinctions of function should be stated. This also has two kinds: the six āyatanas (sense-entrances) as seeds, which are the seeds embraced by name-and-form seeds, and the resultant six āyatanas produced from them. The first five exist in the desire and form realms. The sixth extends to all three realms.

Explanation: What is the eye-ayatana? It is the clear, supreme eye faculty upon which the arising and functioning of eye-consciousness depend. Relying on this clear eye faculty, one could see colors in the past, can see colors in the present world, and will be able to see colors in the future. The eye-ayatana is like this; similarly, the ear-ayatana, nose-ayatana, tongue-ayatana, body-ayatana, and even the mind-ayatana are also like this. Consciousness, relying on the mind faculty, can cognize dharmas of the past, present, and future. Wherever the faculties reach, they can cognize accordingly. The six consciousnesses can reach their respective sense-objects, all determined by the mind faculty. Only after the mind faculty makes a choice can the six consciousnesses arise, and thereafter discrimination can occur.

In all the āyatanas – the eye-ayatana, ear-ayatana, nose-ayatana, tongue-ayatana, body-ayatana, and mind-ayatana – there are distinctions of function in the three times: past, present, and future. The function has two kinds. The first is the seeds of the six āyatanas, embraced by name-and-form seeds. When name-and-form is in the seed state and has not yet arisen, the six āyatanas are even more so in the seed state and cannot arise. The second is the resultant six āyatanas born upon name-and-form. The first five āyatanas exist in the desire realm and the form realm; they do not exist in the formless realm. The sixth āyatana extends to the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm.