Commentary on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (199)

Liberating the Mind from the Bondage of All Dharmas

The principle of liberation is discussed extensively in the Āgamas of the Small Vehicle: when the mind is not bound by all dharmas, that is liberation. Are we not all bound by all dharmas right now? Observe whether you are bound by the five aggregates—aggregate of form (rūpa), aggregate of feeling (vedanā), aggregate of perception (saṃjñā), aggregate of formations (saṃskāra), and aggregate of consciousness (vijñāna)—bound by the six faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, and bound by the six sense-objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma. Certainly we are all bound, and therefore we must find a way to seek liberation.

All dharmas are contained within the eighteen elements (dhātus). The myriad things in our lives—form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma—are all included within all dharmas. No matter or principle can be separated from the five aggregates and the eighteen elements. Our minds are indeed all bound by all dharmas. So which mind, specifically, is bound by all dharmas? The minds of the first seven consciousnesses are all bound. The seventh consciousness, the manas, universally grasps at all dharmas, grasps at the five aggregates, and grasps at all dharmas of the eighteen elements, and is bound by the eighteen elements. Therefore, one must continuously train the six consciousnesses, which likewise crave the realms of the six sense-objects. In this way, one cannot attain liberation from the six sense-objects, cannot escape the bitter ocean of birth and death within the six realms of saṃsāra, and consequently drifts through birth and death amid sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress (śoka-parideva-duḥkha-daurmanasyopāyāsa).