Why is the discernment of the six sense objects less clear the farther away they are?

Regardless of whether sentient beings possess the five material sense faculties, the manas, relying on the tathāgatagarbha, can contact all dharmas, as long as the tathāgatagarbha can perceive all dharmas. When the tathāgatagarbha contacts the outer six sense objects, it takes in the four great elements' particles of the outer six sense objects and instantly forms images identical to the outer six sense objects, which the manas can then contact. If there are the five subtle material sense faculties and the supreme faculties, the tathāgatagarbha further transmits them to the five subtle material sense faculties, and the manas can still contact them; then when they are transmitted to the supreme faculties, the manas can contact them even better. From the instant the tathāgatagarbha takes in the outer six sense objects until the four great elements' particles are transmitted into the supreme faculties, the images along this path are constantly arising, ceasing, and changing; in between there is the obstructing effect of the medium, and the quantity and arrangement structure of the four great elements' particles will be affected and change, so the images will change. The greater the distance from the supreme faculties, the greater the change in the images.

Therefore, when we see material objects in the distance, they appear blurry and indistinct; the farther away a sound is, the fainter and less clear it sounds; the farther away a scent is, the fainter it is; the farther away sunlight is, the less heat it carries—all of these are the result of the six sense objects' images being obstructed by the intervening medium, causing changes in the four great elements' particles.

Because the manas can contact the six sense objects before they are transmitted to the supreme faculties, when encountering major and sudden sense object states, the manas will react very quickly in advance, as if it had made preparations beforehand.