Saṃyuktāgama, Volume 8

Original text: 如是我闻。一时佛住毗舍离耆婆拘摩罗药师庵罗园。尔时世尊告诸比丘。有六触入处。云何为六。眼触入处。耳鼻舌身意触入处。沙门婆罗门于此六触入处。集灭味患离不如实知。当知是沙门婆罗门去我法律远。如虚空与地。

Explanation: The World-Honored One instructed the bhikṣus, saying that there are six bases of contact and entry: the eye faculty contacting the material sense-objects as a base of entry, and the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind contacting the bases of entry of sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas. If śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas, with regard to these six bases of contact and entry, cannot truly and as they really are know the arising of the six bases of contact and entry, cannot truly know their ceasing, cannot truly know the savoring of and craving attachment to the six bases of contact and entry, cannot truly know the faults and dangers of the six bases of contact and entry, and cannot truly know that one should depart from craving desire for the six bases of contact and entry, then one should know that such śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas are still very far from my Dharma and Vinaya—as far as empty space is from the great earth.

Original text: 时有异比丘从座起整衣服。为佛作礼。合掌白佛言。我具足如实知此六触入处。集灭味患离。佛告比丘。我今问汝。汝随问答我。比丘。汝见眼触入处。是我异我相在不。答言不也。世尊。

佛告比丘。善哉善哉。于此眼触入处。非我非异我不相在。如实知见者。不起诸漏。心不染著。心得解脱。是名初触入处。已断已知。断其根本。如截多罗树头。于未来法永不复起。所谓眼识及色。

Explanation: At that time, a bhikṣu who had come from elsewhere rose from his seat, arranged his robes, paid homage to the World-Honored One, and with palms joined addressed the Buddha, saying: "I have completely and truly known, as they really are, the arising, ceasing, savoring, faults, and departure from desire of these six bases of contact and entry." The Buddha told this bhikṣu: "I shall now question you; answer me according to my questions. Bhikṣu, do you see the eye-contact base of entry as being self, as being other than self, or as mutually existing with self?" The bhikṣu replied: "No, World-Honored One."

The Buddha told the bhikṣu: "Excellent, excellent! One who truly knows and sees, with regard to this eye-contact base of entry, that it is not self, not other than self, and does not mutually exist with self, will not give rise to the various outflows of defilement; the mind will not be tainted and attached, and the mind will attain liberation. This is called the first base of contact and entry—already severed and already known, its root cut off, like the top of a tāla tree cut off, never to arise again in future dharmas—namely, eye consciousness and material form."

Explanation: At this point, a bhikṣu who had come from elsewhere rose from his seat, arranged his robes, paid homage to the World-Honored One, and with palms joined addressed the Buddha, saying: "I have completely and truly known the arising, ceasing, savoring, faults, and departure from desire of these six bases of contact and entry." The Buddha told this bhikṣu: "I shall now question you; answer me according to my questions. Bhikṣu, do you see the eye-contact base of entry as being self, as being mine, with the self and the eye-contact base of entry mutually existing?" The bhikṣu replied: "World-Honored One, I do not see the eye-contact base of entry as being self, as being mine, or as mutually existing."

The Buddha said to the bhikṣu: "Very good. For one who is able to truly know and see that this eye-contact base of entry is not self, not mine, and does not mutually exist, the mind will no longer give rise to the various outflows of defilement such as greed, hatred, and delusion; the mind will no longer be tainted by attachment to the eye-contact base of entry, and the mind will attain liberation. This means that the view of self regarding the first, the eye-contact base of entry, has already been severed and known—having severed it at its root, like cutting off the top of a tāla tree, so that in future lives the view of the eye-contact base of entry as self and mine will never again arise."

Then the mental formations that crave eye consciousness and are tainted by material sense-objects will never again appear. Because eye contact is not self and not different from self, the eye consciousness and material sense-objects that arise dependent on eye contact are likewise not self and not different from self. Without craving eye contact, no discrimination will be made based on eye contact; eye consciousness will not arise, and material sense-objects will not appear and manifest within eye consciousness, so the mind does not see forms.

Original text: 汝见耳鼻舌身意触入处。是我异我相在不。答言不也。世尊。佛告比丘。善哉善哉。于耳鼻舌身意触入处。非我非异我不相在。作如是如实知见者。不起诸漏。心不染著。心得解脱。是名比丘六触入处。已断已知。断其根本。如截多罗树头。于未来世欲不复生。谓意识法。佛说此经已，诸比丘闻佛所说，欢喜奉行。

Explanation: The World-Honored One continued to question the bhikṣu: "Do you take the ear-contact base of entry, the nose-contact base of entry, the tongue-contact base of entry, the body-contact base of entry, and the mind-contact base of entry as self and mine, believing that the self is within the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind bases of contact and entry, and that the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind bases of contact and entry are within the self?" The bhikṣu replied: "World-Honored One, I do not see them in that way."

The Buddha said to the bhikṣu: "Very good. For one who is able to truly know and see that the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind bases of contact and entry are not self, not different from self, and do not mutually exist, the mind will no longer give rise to the various outflows of defilement such as greed, hatred, and delusion; the mind will no longer crave and be tainted by the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind bases of contact and entry, and the mind will attain liberation. The bhikṣus have already severed the view of self with regard to these ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind bases of contact and entry, and have already known that they are not self, not different from self, and do not mutually exist—just like cutting off the top of a tāla tree. Then in future lives there will be no further arising of ear consciousness and sound objects, nose consciousness and smell objects, tongue consciousness and taste objects, body consciousness and tangible objects, nor will there be further arising of mind consciousness and mental objects; there will be no further craving attachment to sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas, nor to the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind consciousnesses."

This is speaking of who no longer craves the six consciousnesses and the six sense-objects? It is of course that the manas, the self, no longer craves them, because the manas has severed the view of self regarding the six bases of contact and entry, and no longer delights in any discrimination that arises dependent on the six faculties; the six consciousnesses will not arise, and the six sense-objects will not appear within the minds of the six consciousnesses.

One who engages in contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) to eliminate the view of self gives rise to true knowledge and seeing at the six faculties, arouses genuine wisdom, and observes the true facts of the six faculties—that they are not self and not different from self—so that afflictions are completely severed and the mind attains liberation. There is no longer any view of self; wrong views do not arise; thus self-grasping is severed, and one enters nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa). The manas's former wrong view

of taking the six faculties as self and mine—now it no longer takes the six faculties as self and mine. Thus right view is fulfilled, true knowledge and seeing are possessed; not taking the six faculties as self, the mind is liberated and afflictions are completely severed.

But if you insert the eighth consciousness into this, it does not make sense. It cannot be that the manas's former wrong view took the six faculties as the eighth consciousness, and through contemplative practice obtained right knowledge and seeing, no longer taking the six faculties as the eighth consciousness. If that were so, was the former wrong view actually a wrong view? Was the right view after contemplative practice actually a right view? Not at all. If it were so, then every sentient being would no longer need to eliminate the view of self, because every sentient being would originally be without self—taking the eighth consciousness as self and not taking form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness as self. In that case, there would also be no need for the Buddha to come again to the Sahā world to expound the Āgama teachings on the principle of the four noble truths, nor any need to have sentient beings awaken to the true mind and see their nature, realizing the eighth consciousness. There would be no such necessity.