Why Does Closing the Eyes Nourish the Spirit?

God is the mind consciousness. First, it refers to the eye consciousness; second, to the consciousness; and third, to the mental faculty. The eighth consciousness does not need nurturing; it does not consume energy and never grows weary.

Can the mental faculty grow weary? Since beginningless kalpas, the mental faculty has never rested, just like the eighth consciousness. Although it is not always diligent and uncomplaining, it clings to all dharmas and never ceases to be concerned. Only when does it become unwilling to worry?

The mental faculty also experiences boredom, aversion, and fatigue. It cannot persist consistently from beginning to end. Therefore, the mental faculty also needs rest, shifting its attention to lighter and more pleasant matters, avoiding entanglement with troublesome affairs. When it grasps at too many things and can no longer bear the burden, it knows to temporarily let go.

What most requires nurturing is the consciousness, because whenever the consciousness becomes active, it consumes certain nutrients, especially those in the brain cells. When material energy is insufficient, the consciousness feels fatigued. When thinking about problems excessively, the consciousness cannot keep up with the train of thought, and it then needs rest, ceasing to perceive, differentiate, discern, and ponder.

Does the eye consciousness need nurturing? When the eyes look at objects for extended periods, they may experience pain, diminished vision, blurred sight, dizziness, and so on. However, this is not a problem with the eye consciousness itself. Rather, it is because the eye faculty remains fixed on a single object for too long, causing nerve fatigue. The material form of the eye faculty is part of the body faculty. Problems with the eye faculty are thus problems of the body faculty, and sensations of fatigue and soreness are tactile perceptions, which fall under the domain of the body consciousness.

Due to prolonged visual activity, the eye faculty consumes more energy. When the attention of both the mental faculty and the consciousness is fixed on a single object, it consumes brain cells and also leads to fatigue and weariness. If the optic nerves remain constantly tense without issue, then the eye consciousness could look at objects indefinitely without any problem.

The optic nerves connect to the liver meridian. Prolonged visual strain fatigues and damages the liver meridian, leading to liver problems. Liver problems, in turn, affect the consciousness’s ability to think and perceive. The physical body affects the conscious mind, and the conscious mind also affects the physical body; body and mind are interdependent.

In truth, the conscious mind itself never has problems. The issue lies in whether the body’s material energy can be supplied sufficiently. For the conscious mind to function normally, the six sense objects must appear normally, and brain cells must function properly. If material forms are excessively consumed or inadequately supplied, the operation of the conscious mind will be affected, and it will be unable to perform its perceptual functions normally.

Closing the eyes to “nurture the spirit” can also be understood as regulating nervous system activity, preventing the nervous system from excessive or overstrained activity, especially rigid, unidirectional exertion. This way, the body avoids damage.