Selected Lectures on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (66)

The faculties include the six faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. These six faculties are like illusions, manifested by the tathāgatagarbha; this is called "illusory like a conjuration." The sense objects are like a dream. The sense objects are the visual objects seen by the eye, the sounds heard by the ear, the fragrant and foul odors smelled by the nose, the sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy flavors tasted by the tongue, the objects felt by the body such as fatigue, tranquility, softness, comfort, hunger, satiety, and so on, and the mental sense-object realm confronted by the manas. These sense objects appear to exist, but their existence is false existence, illusory existence, and is not real—just like the objects in a dream. Everywhere, the Buddha is revealing to us one truth: all dharmas are utterly empty and tranquil. This means that all dharmas are empty and tranquil.