The Differential Clinging of Manas to the Internal and External Four Mahābhūtas

The mental faculty of ordinary beings possesses the characteristic of pervasive conceptual grasping, whereby it may develop attachments to all dharmas encountered, differing only in the degree of intensity, urgency, and manner of attachment. The mental faculty is most attached to the physical body and the functional operations of the six consciousnesses, because these dharmas are vividly present, intimately close to the mental faculty, and inseparable from it even for an instant; it relies on these dharmas to manifest itself. The mental faculty grasps the physical body composed of the internal four great elements as "I" or "mine." The physical body exerts the most direct and profound influence on the mental faculty—so to speak, they are intimately connected—representing the life characteristics of the mental faculty's "self," while also being directly controllable. Therefore, the mental faculty is most attached to the physical body.

However, the mental faculty also clings to material forms composed of the external four great elements and the universe as the vessel-world, regarding these dharmas as its possessions and believing it can enjoy these material forms. For the mental faculty, these dharmas are not intimately connected or inseparable even momentarily; they merely serve the needs of the physical body's existence. They are difficult to control directly and maintain a more distant relationship with the mental faculty. Attachment to the external four great elements ultimately serves the internal four great elements, and in essence, remains an attachment to the internal four great elements. Thus, the mental faculty's attachment to the external four great elements is less intense than its attachment to the physical body. If an individual exhibits severe attachment to material forms, it indicates excessive greed and clinging, making liberation difficult.