The World of Black Boxes (13)

Regarding the inner manifestation, that mountain is composed of the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind. When we wish to see it, our own Tathāgatagarbha comes into contact with the external mountain, and it extracts the subtle particles of the four great elements (earth, water, fire, and wind) from that mountain. After extracting these particles, they are transmitted continuously to our eye faculty, into the eyeball, through the vitreous body, to the optic nerve, and finally to the subtle sense faculty in the back of our brain. There, the Tathāgatagarbha immediately transforms these particles into the manifest colors of the inner manifestation.

The external mountain, as the outer manifestation, is collectively sustained by the Tathāgatagarbha of beings sharing the same karma. As for the mountain within our inner manifestation, it is a shadow manifested by our own Tathāgatagarbha based on the outer manifestation. The transformation of the outer manifestation into the inner manifestation involves profound mysteries, touching upon deep questions of Vijñāna (Consciousness-Only) wisdom.

The mountain we perceive holds such profound secrets, and the entire process of seeing the mountain contains even more mysteries. How does the Tathāgatagarbha sustain the external mountain? It is through the collective, moment-by-moment output of the seeds of the four great elements by the Tathāgatagarbha of all beings, jointly transforming, sustaining, and altering that mountain. The mountain itself is also changing moment by moment; hence, over thousands or tens of thousands of years, it will change and eventually vanish. This is the principle behind the saying that “seas transform into mulberry fields, and mulberry fields transform into seas.”

The entire earth is undergoing change. Why does it change? It is due to the karmic conditions summoned by sentient beings. Therefore, the Tathāgatagarbha of all beings sharing collective karma continuously outputs the seeds of the four great elements moment by moment, jointly transforming and sustaining these outer manifestations—mountains, waters, the universe, and the vessel world—composed of earth, water, fire, and wind. The relationships involved here are extremely complex and difficult to articulate clearly.

When the Tathāgatagarbha of an individual being encounters that mountain, it extracts the subtle particles of the four great elements corresponding to that being’s own karma. If the being has accumulated much wholesome karma, the manifested inner manifestation will be more complete and pure; if it has accumulated much unwholesome karma, the manifested inner manifestation will be flawed and inferior. Each person’s karmic obstructions differ. After extracting the particles of the four great elements from the mountain, because the particles extracted vary, the manifested inner manifestation also differs. The inner manifestation is likewise manifested based on the karmic seeds and karmic force of the sentient being.

The mountains, rivers, and great earth seen by each person are all different. The same mountain may appear beautiful to some and unattractive to others, which relates to blessings, karmic force, mental state, and other factors. When an arhat enters the state of remainderless nirvana, his portion of the outer manifestation—the mountains, rivers, and great earth he participated in manifesting—subsequently vanishes. However, sentient beings do not perceive the change in the outer manifestation, simply because the number of beings participating in manifesting the outer manifestation is so vast. When the arhat’s Tathāgatagarbha withdraws all of his four great elements, the change in the outer manifestation is not obvious, and we remain unaware. Only the Buddha and the great bodhisattvas can perceive it.

Because the Tathāgatagarbha possesses seeds of material form (rūpa) and directly participates in manifesting material phenomena, it can come into contact with the mountain of the outer manifestation, directly encounter that mountain, and extract the subtle particles of the four great elements. After extracting them, it can transmit them through obstructing objects to the gross physical eye faculty and the subtle sense faculty. Thus, even when we look at the external mountain through a window, we can see the mountain of the inner manifestation.