The Black Box World (32)

The scents we perceive along the way are similar. As the locations we pass through differ, the aromas emanating from each place are distinct. This shows that the external smell objects are constantly transforming. These smell objects are transmitted through the olfactory faculty (nose root), enter the sensory nerves (the subtle root), and form internal smell objects, becoming images within the black box. Our nose consciousness and mental consciousness then perceive these internal smell objects. One scent after another is transmitted. As the locations we traverse change, the scents transmitted differ, and the scents (smell objects) we perceive also vary. Yet, because the scents we perceive feel identical to those in the external world, we believe that what we smell is the external smell objects, so real they seem. Scents emanating from a certain place, from a restaurant, from flowers, from trees, from a specific person – they all seem like genuine material scents. In reality, they are all internal smell objects, scents within the black box.

When eating, as the external taste objects from food and drink change, the internal taste objects perceived by our tongue consciousness and mental consciousness also continuously shift. Consequently, we believe we are eating real food, tasting genuine flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy, feeling as though everything is real. In truth, these are also internal taste objects within the black box, mere reflections. We perceive these reflections as real because they are identical to the external taste objects; we cannot perceive their illusory nature.

The touch objects we perceive on our bodies – the gentle breeze blowing along the way, the warm sunlight shining, and other tactile sensations – are also constantly changing. What we feel are likewise internal touch objects within the black box. This is because the external touch objects are perpetually in flux: the sunlight may grow warmer as time passes, or the temperature may drop, becoming cooler. In one place there's a light breeze, in another the wind is slightly stronger, and in yet another, there is no wind at all. The hand might touch a flower, or touch a tree, or touch some other object. These external touch objects are continuously transforming.