The Relationship Between the Inner Six Sense Objects and the Outer Six Sense Objects

Does the mental sense-object (dharma-viṣaya) upon the external five sense-objects exist? If the external mental sense-object does not exist, then what is it that the manas takes as its object?

The mental sense-object upon the five sense-objects is also called "form included in the mental-object base" (dharmāyatana-parigṛhīta-rūpa), and it is the content discerned by the manas and the mind consciousness. Upon material form, it is divided into visible form (rūpa), which is discerned by the eye consciousness — this is the inner material sense-object; while shape-form (saṃsthāna-rūpa), expressive form (vijñapti-rūpa), and non-expressive form (avijñapti-rūpa) are the parts discerned by the mind consciousness — this is the inner mental sense-object. Shape-form refers to long, short, square, round, large, small, thick, and thin. If the inner mental sense-object possesses such shape-form, how does it appear? Where does it come from? Without external shape-form, can there be inner shape-form? Expressive form and non-expressive form are likewise.

For example, the shape of a table is shape-form; what the mind consciousness sees is the inner shape-form. If there is no external shape-form, then there can be no inner shape-form. When a table is made by hand, the shape-form of the table must certainly also be manufactured; the table in the essential realm (the direct object) must have a shape of long, short, square, or round. If the table in the essential realm had no shape, then what kind of table would the workers be manufacturing? The tables produced by different manufacturers would then be indistinguishable; not only that, they would also be indistinguishable from other material forms. Because all these things would have only the color of visible form, without hardness or softness, without any notion of weight, and without any other information whatsoever. Then how would the tathāgatagarbha, in accordance with the table in the essential realm, conjure up an identical table within the supreme faculty, just as a mirror displays an image?

When all material forms come into being, they have shape and substance, so as to be mutually distinguishable and to manifest their own inherent characteristics; otherwise there would be no difference between one material thing and another. For example, while sentient beings are in the mother's womb, the tathāgatagarbha must give rise to the state of the four limbs of the physical body, the size and plumpness or thinness of the body, the expressive form of flesh, as well as the non-expressive form of whether the body is sturdy and healthy or not, and lovable or not. After leaving the mother's womb, every sentient being still has shape-forms such as limbs, head and feet, tall or short, fat or thin, as well as expressive form and non-expressive form. The shape-forms of the limbs and so forth are external shape-forms to others, while what others see is the inner shape-form; if a sentient being himself had no shape of limbs, others could not see the sentient being's shape-forms such as limbs, nor could they know the expressive and non-expressive forms such as whether the being is healthy, lively, and active, or his temperament, character, and disposition.

The tathāgatagarbha displays images as a mirror does, manifesting images truthfully: the inner material sense-object is identical to the external material sense-object, and the inner sound sense-object is identical to the external sound sense-object. If they were not identical, it would not be like a mirror displaying images (except for reasons of karmic force). It is like a person standing before a mirror: the mirror displays a reflection identical to the real person, and the mirror does not perform any processing, because the mirror has no mind. Therefore it is said that all material forms have external mental sense-objects, including sounds, taste objects, smell objects, and touch objects — all have shape-form and expressive-form external mental sense-objects. Furthermore, for example, an external form will form an inverted image on the retina, and a tree can also form an inverted reflection in a river; material sense-objects can be upright or inverted, correct or deviant, above or below, left or right, inner or outer — this shows that material sense-objects have shape-form. Having shape-form, there is an external mental sense-object, which is transmitted through the manas into the supreme faculty, for the mind consciousness to discern.