The World of the Black Box (XII)

The profound issue concerning the secret Tathāgatagarbha manifesting the internal perceived division at the point where the sense faculties, sense objects, and consciousness interact involves extremely deep Dharma principles, touching upon the profound reasoning of Consciousness-Only. For example, take an external form object\: our eye faculty does not actually go to that form object, nor does it make contact with the substantial form, yet we still see the form. The form does not reach the eye, nor does the eye reach the form, yet we are able to see the form—this is truly strange. When looking at a distant mountain, that mountain is very far from our eye faculty; our eye faculty certainly cannot reach it, nor does the mountain come to our eye faculty, yet we see that mountain. This is indeed strange. All this pertains to the mysteries of Consciousness-Only, involving the issue of the wisdom of all modes. This mystery is profoundly deep, exceedingly deep.

For instance, that distant mountain outside—who manifested it? It is co-manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha of sentient beings sharing this collective karma. After its manifestation, the Tathāgatagarbha of all sentient beings sharing this collective karma collectively upholds that mountain. Does our own Tathāgatagarbha participate in that external mountain? Of course it does! Since we are also sentient beings sharing this collective karma, when we see that mountain, that mountain is connected to us. Our Tathāgatagarbha also participated in manifesting it and participates in upholding that mountain. That is the external perceived division.