The Conscious Mind Is Neither Inside nor Outside the Physical Body, nor in Between

Although the six consciousnesses discriminate the inner six sense-objects within the supreme faculties (rūpa-prasāda) and make contact with the inner six sense-objects, the mind consciousnesses are neither inside nor outside the physical body, nor in between. In the first volume of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the World-Honored One already addressed this issue, saying that the mind is not inside, outside, or in between the physical body. This is because the mind is formless and without mark, and cannot dwell within the physical body; if it dwelt within the physical body, then one could discover its location simply by dissecting the body.

Yet even when you cut the body apart piece by piece, you cannot find the mind; therefore the mind is not inside the physical body. The mind is also not outside the physical body. If the mind were outside the body, it would be in empty space, and in that case the six consciousnesses would have nothing to do with oneself and would not belong to oneself. If the six consciousnesses in empty space could act upon oneself, they could equally act upon other sentient beings, and the mind consciousness would be something shared in common—which is impossible. If the mind were in between the physical body and empty space, there is in fact no real location called "in between," and no so-called intermediate position can be found. Therefore the mind is not inside, outside, or in between the physical body.

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