The World of Black Boxes

Chapter 10  Questions Related to the Black Box of the Supreme Faculty

I. The Functions of the Supreme Faculty Wax and Wane

Question: A child was frightened at six months old, and from then on became like a fool, with language, behavior, and ability to communicate with others all severely affected. But after growing up, a remarkable phenomenon appeared: his mental arithmetic ability was astonishing, surpassing almost everyone in the world, even rivaling a computer. How can this phenomenon be explained?

Answer: The brain's supreme faculty of a six-month-old child is not yet fully developed. Modern medicine has found that at birth, a child's skull is only about one quarter the size of an adult's, and the brain capacity of a six-month-old child is less than half that of an adult; the mind consciousness and the body's organs are all very fragile. When he received a great fright, the manas reacted abnormally, prompting abnormal reactions in the brain's nervous system; the qi and blood could not flow normally, activity in the brain region was obstructed, and as a result, the function of a certain part of the supreme faculty was damaged.

The flow of blood from the heart became abnormal and could not smoothly deliver blood to the whole body, leading to later problems in brain development, ultimately resulting in a brain disability—what is commonly called brain damage. But so-called brain damage is not complete impairment, because when a person's supreme faculty is locally damaged causing functional disorder, the functions of other parts are instead enhanced. This is what modern medicine calls "compensatory function." The younger the age, the greater this compensatory capacity of the brain develops.

The area of the supreme faculty at the back of our brain has a very complex structure; it is divided into many regions, with each region responsible for a certain part of the body's functions. The entire brain is formed from the seeds of the four great elements. The solid substances such as the cerebral cortex and nerve fibers formed by these four great elements, as well as liquid substances such as brain fluid and blood, are all material form (rūpa-dharma). The body's blood flows through the brain, bringing the nutritional components of the four great elements, providing nutrients for the development and operation of the rear-brain supreme faculty. These nutrients can influence the deliberation of the mind consciousness and influence the discriminating activities of the six consciousnesses. When he was frightened, the blood flow became abnormal; blood flow stagnated in a local area, and that part of the brain tissue where blood could not circulate stopped developing and even atrophied.

Under normal circumstances, the nutrients composed of the four great elements are evenly distributed throughout the entire brain. Because the material form was distributed unevenly, a certain part of the supreme faculty received abundant nutrition, the brain's function in that region became vigorous, and the corresponding function of the consciousness in that place was enhanced. As for other regions that received no nutrition or insufficient nutrition, their corresponding functions declined and atrophied. This child was especially quick and developed in mathematical thinking, which was not adversely affected; rather, he was affected in language and other areas. Also, his walking was abnormal, indicating that the function of a certain part of the cerebellum was also affected, because the cerebellum is responsible for bodily balance and walking. Wherever was affected, the corresponding function weakened. Where did the weakened function go? It went to compensate for the part where the function was relatively developed.

Compensation occurs in two aspects: one in material form, the other in mental dharma. Actually, the word "compensate" is not quite precise; it should be said that his function of deliberation in a certain area became extraordinarily developed through compensation. Because the supreme faculty corresponding to this part of the function not only was unaffected in absorbing the material four great elements, but also absorbed the nutrients of the four great elements that should have been delivered to other brain regions—this is the explanation in terms of material form.

Explaining from the aspect of mental dharma: for a person whose supreme faculty develops and grows normally, the functions of the six consciousnesses should develop in a balanced way. Because of the impact of the fright, this child's development of the six consciousnesses' functions became unbalanced. In language, behavior, and ability to communicate with others, the six consciousnesses were clearly deficient compared to ordinary people, while in mathematical thinking, calculation, and memory ability, they unexpectedly received compensation. If modern medical science were advanced enough to classify in detail the various functions of the supreme faculty and locate the corresponding brain tissue regions in anatomy, it would be found that the brain tissue and neurons responsible for mathematical deliberation are especially developed. The six consciousnesses take the faculties and sense objects as conditions, so the strength or weakness of the supreme faculty naturally influences the deliberation of the mind consciousness.

Because I lack relevant knowledge of medical physiology, I cannot give a detailed explanation in this respect, so let me give an example from the perspective of Consciousness-Only. For example, a blind person, because the eye faculty is damaged and cannot see form objects clearly, has only the four consciousnesses of ear, nose, tongue, and body among the first five consciousnesses operating normally, and the attention of the sixth consciousness, the mind consciousness, concentrates on the dharma objects of sound, smell, taste, and touch. To compensate for the deficiency in perceiving the external world caused by the defect of the eye consciousness, this blind person's ear faculty becomes especially keen. With the slightest movement, others might not hear it, but he might hear it. Because he frequently directs attention (manaskāra) to the ear faculty area, the tathāgatagarbha cooperates with the manas to make the ear faculty developed and sensitive, and transfers energy to hearing.

Why can it be transferred to hearing? That is the diversion of the mind consciousness, the diversion of the seeds of consciousness. Using the analogy of diverting river water: when the total amount remains unchanged, if the flow elsewhere decreases, the water flowing through this place naturally increases. The attention of our consciousness is limited, and the seeds of consciousness are limited. If the limited seeds of consciousness are distributed evenly, no function will be strong. If one shuts off a portion of the functions and concentrates all the energy, all the seeds of consciousness, on one aspect, then the function of that aspect becomes especially developed. This child was the same: the functions of language, behavior, and bodily movement balance weakened, and the attention of the mind consciousness and the seeds of consciousness all concentrated on mathematical deliberation. This child's energy was not dispersed outward but entirely used for mathematical deliberation, so his capacity for mathematical deliberation became extremely developed, and he acquired extraordinary mathematical calculation ability.

To a certain extent, this can also be counted as a dharma gate of cultivating meditative concentration. So-called concentration means the mind does not direct itself outward, causing the seeds of consciousness to concentrate and flow forth at a certain place; the force of discrimination then becomes especially powerful, discrimination becomes very clear, and the effect used for contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and investigating Chan is especially good. Part of this child's consciousness functions were shut off or weakened, and his energy was entirely concentrated on deliberation related to arithmetic—this is called concentration (samādhi).

Because of this concentration, he gained a kind of great wisdom in this area, able to calculate very complex problems quickly and accurately. Of course, this is also related to karmic seeds from past lives; his past life may have been outstanding in this respect, having this specialty, and in this life, because of this accident, this function was developed. This accident was also a retribution, and his functional specialty is also a kind of retribution; the two retributions happened to combine, resulting in his present condition.

For a normal child, the development and growth of the rear-brain supreme faculty is necessarily relatively balanced. At this time the supreme faculty operates without obstruction, and the mind consciousness is distributed evenly across the various functional regions of the rear brain, so the attention of the mind consciousness is relatively dispersed. Such a child may be adequate in every function, but outstanding in none. Because he has no power of concentration and the mind consciousness is not focused, no special function appears, and he cannot accomplish special undertakings. Because the functions of all aspects develop in a balanced way, the power is dispersed—this principle is the same as the principle of cultivating meditative concentration.

Now look at the disabled child in the video: judging from his expression, he has meditative concentration; his mind is not scattered outward, and his attention is entirely placed on mental deliberation. The dharma of mental deliberation belongs to the subjectively imagined realm, and he placed everything on the subjectively imagined realm. His solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta) is very strong, and the consciousness accompanied by the five senses weakened; the external world did not draw much of his energy for grasping. His energy was almost entirely concentrated on the solitary consciousness; the solitary consciousness was especially developed, so his capacity for arithmetical deliberation was very strong, and this potential was developed.

For a person whose supreme faculty develops relatively in balance, talent in a certain aspect can also be enhanced through later training. For example, some accomplished scientists focus on their research projects, their minds not directed outward, all their energy concentrated on a certain project, concentrated on a single point, and their research achievements in that project are very outstanding. For example, the mathematician Chen Jingrun was forgetful and careless in daily life, appearing like a fool in the eyes of ordinary people; that was because he did not apply his mind to the details of everyday life. He devoted all his energy to professional mathematical research, and thus achieved major results.

There are also some artists who, while creating or performing, enter a self-forgetting state of total absorption—this is also a kind of meditative state. Because a person's energy and seeds of consciousness are limited, if used evenly or grasping everywhere, no part will stand out; if the seeds of consciousness can be made to flow forth in concentration, with all energy fully concentrated for use, an extremely powerful function will form.

So it is in worldly dharma, and it is no exception in the cultivation and realization of the Buddha-dharma. If one wants to eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa), to investigate Chan and see the mind, to deliberate on the profound meaning of the dharma, the mind consciousness must not grasp everywhere, must not disperse too much energy attending to irrelevant worldly affairs, and must not hold everything in the mind, unable to let go of this or that. To have achievement, one must have the power of concentration; only with the power of concentration can the mind consciousness be focused and the function be powerful. Therefore, to have achievement in the Buddha-dharma, one must know what to relinquish and what to gain; energy must not be scattered everywhere. Of course, the cultivation of the power of concentration must also be appropriate; one must not focus too much on meditative states, otherwise one will enter deep concentration and be unable to think anymore.

II. The Consumption and Replenishment of the Four Great Elements of the Supreme Faculty

Question: The material body is composed of the four great elements, and the four great elements in the body are constantly in flux. A person absorbs the four great elements outside the body through diet, breathing, etc., transforming them into nutrients composed of the four great elements needed by the body. At the same time, the four great elements in the body are constantly being depleted and expelled through various excretions. And all this operation—only the tathāgatagarbha has this function. When a person is thinking, the tathāgatagarbha constantly absorbs the four great elements at the supreme faculty and manifests the six sense objects, for the mind consciousness and manas to discriminate. Therefore, when one thinks excessively, the nutrients of the four great elements at the supreme faculty are consumed too much, and the brain feels fatigued. When the supreme faculty is supplied with insufficient nutrients of the four great elements, the capacity for deliberation declines. When a person is overly fatigued, sleep is needed, with the tathāgatagarbha operating the four great elements to replenish the nutrients of the supreme faculty. Is this so?

Answer: The dharma objects of the subjectively imagined realm do not require consuming the four great elements of the supreme faculty, but the form included in the dharma base (dharmāyatana) requires consuming the nutrients of the four great elements in the supreme faculty. However, when the manas and mind consciousness operate, they touch the supreme faculty and neurons, release bioelectricity, and consume nutrients of the four great elements. Therefore, when one deliberates too much, the brain feels fatigued and needs to rest for a while, waiting for the energy in the brain to gather again.

When the consciousness moves, the brain's nerves pulse, releasing bioelectricity, releasing and consuming energy. Even when in meditative concentration and the six consciousnesses are unmoving, the manas is still subtly discriminating, secretly active, and also consumes a little of the nutrients of the four great elements. The subtler the manas's activity, the less is consumed; the deeper the concentration, the subtler the manas's activity, the less is consumed. When one enters the concentration of no perception (asaṃjñi-samāpatti), one can remain in concentration for several kalpas or longer, without needing food, but the body will become thin and weak.

III. Do Sleeping Pills and Anesthetics Have the Same Effect?

Sleeping pills and anesthetics both have an inhibiting effect on the brain and various nerve tissues, able to prevent the nervous system from transmitting the body's various signals to the supreme faculty. If there is no information in the supreme faculty, no inner sense objects, the six consciousnesses will not arise to discriminate. Then the body's pain sensations cannot be transmitted to the supreme faculty, and there is no consciousness to feel the pain, so the body has no sensation of pain; or there is no consciousness to deliberate on the dharma objects, and one remains in a dormant state.

Since they can inhibit the activity of the brain nerves, they have toxic side effects, able to damage and destroy the nervous system. When brain activity is inhibited and the deliberative activity of the consciousness is obstructed, it can cause intellectual decline, early death and premature aging, and dementia. All drugs have a certain destructive effect on the nervous system. When too much medicine is taken, the bones change color, generally turning green or black—this represents the color of the poison. Since the brain and its activities can be influenced and controlled by so many factors, it has no autonomy; and dharma without autonomy is impermanent, arising and ceasing, not real—it is not self and not belonging to self.

IV. The Activities of the Seventh Consciousness All Consume the Energy of the Supreme Faculty

Regarding brainwaves: each brain neuron has a neural nucleus, and each neural nucleus releases brainwaves outward at all times and places—this is the root of the consumption of our own energy by our usual psychological activities. Moreover, when the six faculties contact the six sense objects, when the consciousness exerts mental force, analyzes, infers, and judges, it releases large amounts of brainwaves. When the consciousness deliberates, the brainwaves consumed outward are the greatest. Therefore, when practitioners of concentration focus inward and do not grasp at external objects, the energy consumed is less.

All the nerve tissues of the whole body ultimately converge at the brain, concentrated at the supreme faculty. The inner six sense objects manifest at the supreme faculty, and the seven consciousnesses also operate at the brain's supreme faculty. Once the seven consciousnesses are active, every movement affects the brain's nervous system, and then the nervous system transmits throughout the whole body. Therefore, the activities and reactions of the various consciousnesses can induce changes in the material body, affecting the body's breathing, heartbeat, pulse, blood circulation, internal organs, and even the skin. Finally, one conclusion can be drawn: cultivating the mind is cultivating the body. There is another conclusion left for everyone to infer and prove the reasoning within—this conclusion is: cultivating the body can also nourish the mind.

The Buddha-dharma is the most rigorous science, the most cutting-edge science, but lacking merit, lacking meditative concentration, and lacking wisdom, one cannot realize it. When the power of concentration is insufficient, the capacity for logical deliberation cannot keep up; deliberation is not fine and dense enough, and wisdom cannot be developed. Many people always like to study theory everywhere, never willing to spend time cultivating concentration and contemplative practice of the Buddha-dharma. As a result, what they learn is all theoretical knowledge, of not the slightest use to their own body and mind; afflictions remain afflictions, no wisdom remains no wisdom, arrogance remains arrogance, and the self-view remains self—obtaining not a bit of the benefit of liberation of body and mind.

V. How Does a Person with Amnesia Recover Memory?

Question: Twelve years ago my brain was severely deprived of oxygen and its function was damaged; my past memories disappeared. The doctor said I might never remember them again, and could only take some medicine to strengthen my memory somewhat. During these twelve years my memory has been very poor—I could not remember people's faces or recall things that had just happened. During this year's pandemic, I was alone in Wuhan; those dozens of days were especially quiet. Suddenly one day, people and events from the past flashed through my brain, scene after scene, especially clear.

I immediately called my mother, who asked me many things and found that I had truly remembered. But the memories of these twelve years are very vague. I really want to know the answer: what exactly is going on with amnesia and the recovery of memory? Also, my personality—I observed that after recovering my memory, I am more like my childhood self, with no distracting thoughts in my mind, focused attention, good self-discipline; even sleeping very little, I am energetic all day, completely unlike myself during these twelve years, when my brain became very active. What exactly is going on?

Answer: If the brain is deprived of oxygen, the qi and blood cannot flow normally and cannot synthesize the nutritional elements in the blood; the blood's nourishment is insufficient. When the blood supply is insufficient, the brain's supreme faculty lacks the corresponding seeds of the four great elements, causing damage to brain function. When brain function is damaged, it cannot normally receive and generate the inner six sense objects, including dharma objects and the subjectively imagined realm. When faculties and objects cannot normally contact each other, consciousness cannot arise to recall the past—this is the principle of amnesia.

During the pandemic, being idle, the manas had little grasping and had nothing to do, so the consciousness also had little grasping and few distractions; both the consciousness and manas had meditative concentration. The mind gradually quieted down; the manas did not cling much to the body, the qi and blood flowed smoothly, the supply of the four great elements was balanced, the brain was replenished with nutrients, function recovered, and it continued to normally receive the dharma objects and the subjectively imagined realm. Then consciousness arose to discriminate the subjectively imagined realm, and the functional attribute of recollection appeared—memory was restored.

But during the twelve years of illness, the brain's supreme faculty was damaged, and the consciousness's discrimination was weak and blurry, so it could not recall clearly and distinctly; no seeds of clear discrimination were stored in the tathāgatagarbha. After memory returned to normal, there were no clear dharma objects of the subjectively imagined realm in the tathāgatagarbha that could manifest, so the consciousness's recollection of these twelve years is relatively vague. The function of recollection and memory is related to the content discriminated by the consciousness, related to the content received by the manas, and related to karmic seeds.

During these twelve years, the consciousness was weak, and its perfuming and control of the manas lacked force; what the manas manifested was one's former personality attributes. Twelve years ago, the consciousness was strong and could effectively control and perfume the manas; the consciousness's temperament and disposition dominated. Now that the consciousness has recovered its memory and its function is strong again, it will lead and perfume the manas, continuing the temperament and disposition of twelve years ago.

Medical professors and scientists cannot explain the problem of amnesia, showing this is not a simple matter; for other Buddhist practitioners it is also not simple, but for us who study Consciousness-Only it should not be difficult. The order of deliberation on this question should be like this: since brain hypoxia caused amnesia, what role does oxygen play in the brain? What is oxygen's composition, chemical makeup, and function? When memory recovered, what role did oxygen play in it?

Medical physiology holds that oxygen is the combustion aid for brain tissue to produce ATP energy; without oxygen, energy cannot be produced, the metabolism of brain tissue cannot be guaranteed, and brain tissue will lose its functionality; prolonged hypoxia can also cause irreversible damage to brain tissue or even death. Oxygen is a component in synthesizing blood; the hemoglobin in the blood can combine with oxygen and be transported through blood vessels to tissues throughout the body, including brain tissue. The circulation of blood is driven by the wind element, and oxygen also contains the wind element. Blood is a nutrient of the four great elements; without oxygen, the qi and blood do not flow, tissue metabolism is obstructed and affected, the supreme faculty's function cannot be fully and effectively exercised and cannot play its due role, the activity of the consciousness is obstructed, and one cannot recall past people and events.

When the consciousness could not function normally, and the manas was the primary operator during these twelve years, the consciousness's memories were few, almost blank. So after memory recovered, the consciousness could not recall them, and could only recall the period when it could function normally—that is, twelve years ago; its daily manifestation is the temperament and disposition of childhood twelve years ago.

She recovered her memory after the mind quieted down and she had meditative concentration. When there is meditative concentration, the mind is quiet and the manas does not cling to the body; there is no obstruction, the qi and blood flow smoothly. As long as the body's qi and blood flow smoothly, it is healthy, without illness or distress. When the qi and blood flow smoothly, they can unblock the qi and blood of the whole body, and the brain tissue is repaired. This shows that meditative concentration is a diagnostic instrument, and meditative concentration is a therapeutic instrument. Meditative concentration can reduce the manas's grasping and distractions; as long as the manas does not distract, there will be no desire to cling to the body, and one's feelings will naturally be different.

When ill, the five faculties do not hurt, the six sense objects do not hurt—do the six consciousnesses hurt? What do the six consciousnesses hurt about, when there is no object-nature? When one cultivates to a certain point, one will find that every dharma is good, every dharma can eradicate the view of self, every dharma can lead to seeing the mind and seeing the nature, and every dharma is the seed-wisdom of Consciousness-Only.

VI. Mutations of the Supreme Faculty Can Cause Mutated Discrimination by the Six Consciousnesses

When the supreme faculty mutates, the appearances of the inner six sense objects will mutate and cannot be faithful to the original appearance of the outer six sense objects. For example, dogs as sentient beings have heavier karmic obstructions than humans; the six sense-object states they discriminate differ somewhat from human discrimination. For instance, their discrimination of colors differs from that of humans; their degree of color discrimination is very low, lacking discernment. Yet their night vision is very good—in the pitch-black night, they can still distinguish the people and things around them; this is determined by the structure of dogs' eye supreme faculty.

Generally speaking, for the eye consciousness to see form, light is needed; moderate light can illuminate and reveal the form object as it is, so that it can be transmitted into the black box of the supreme faculty, and then the eye consciousness and mind consciousness arise to discriminate the form object. At night, without light, form cannot be illuminated and revealed, and thus cannot be discriminated. With different brightness of light, the form object manifests differently, and the form object discriminated by the eye consciousness differs. Yet this does not prevent the existence and manifestation of the outer form object, which exists and manifests unrestricted by light and other conditions, though it too is arising, ceasing, and mutating moment by moment.

A dog's supreme faculty structure differs from a human's; seeing form is unaffected by light, because what is seen is the inner form object within its own black box, not the outer form object. Dogs' nasal supreme faculty also differs from humans', so their sense of smell is extremely keen; they can distinguish various different scent objects, including the scent objects of all kinds of poisons. Humans cannot do this; the sense of smell is not developed enough—the reason lies in the problem of the black box of the supreme faculty. The structure of the rear-brain black box of each kind of sentient being is different, so the functions of the seven consciousnesses in discriminating the states of the six sense objects differ. Although sentient beings may face the same outer six sense objects, the inner six sense objects in the black box are different, and what the consciousness discriminates is different.

From this one can see that the dharmas sentient beings see are all the dharmas within their own black boxes; if the black box's structure is special, the dharmas seen are special. What determines the structure of the black box? It is determined by each one's karmic power, determined by the karmic seeds of deeds committed in past lives.

VII. Brain Neural Activity Is Prompted by the Mental Activities of the Sixth and Seventh Consciousnesses

When the eye consciousness sees form, there must first be the subtle action of fixing the gaze before the mind consciousness arises. Examining closely this process of fixing the gaze, it is necessarily accompanied by neural pulsing at the brain's supreme faculty. As long as the mind consciousness and manas have mental activity, there is neural pulsing there in the brain, because faculty, object, and consciousness—the three—have contacted in combination, and the supreme faculty can be touched, and only then does the discriminating activity of the consciousness occur. So the supreme faculty moves first, and the consciousness moves afterward. A person with good power of concentration can observe and feel that one's brain moves first, and then mental activity appears. This phenomenon can be observed with precise scientific instruments.

In seeing form, at least four consciousnesses participate, and the other consciousnesses also have other activities. The eight consciousnesses operate together in combination for all dharmas to arise, but all are created by the eighth consciousness outputting seeds and karmic seeds. The seven consciousnesses are only one condition for the arising of all dharmas; there are also other conditions prompting the eye consciousness to see form. The cause, the fundamental cause, is the eighth consciousness; the karmic cause is the karma of past lives, or the karmic seeds.

When faculty and object contact, if there is no condition of the manas grasping, the first six consciousnesses will not arise. Therefore, every neural pulse at the supreme faculty is a physiological manifestation of the manas's process of running from attention (manaskāra) to the mental factor of deliberation (cetanā). The appearance of the object state is like a switch, initiating the operation of the manas's mental factors of feeling, perception, and deliberation, whereby the operation of the six consciousnesses and the five aggregates occurs, and the combined operation of the eight consciousnesses also occurs.

VIII. Degeneration of the Supreme Faculty Can Cause Senile Dementia

Question: Why can a person with senile dementia not remember the most familiar people around them?

Answer: Familiar people are not necessarily the people he is most interested in or the most important people, so a person with senile dementia cannot recall or remember them.

After problems arise in the brain's supreme faculty, elderly people still remember past old events very clearly and always like to recall people and events from childhood and earlier times. But they have little impression of people and events from recent years; they have memory of and interest in the people they care about and like most, but have little impression of others. Because with increasing age, the brain's supreme faculty mutates more and more, causing the memory function to deteriorate, and many people and events can no longer be remembered. But the events of youth and childhood have already been stored in the tathāgatagarbha; if the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have no illness, they can be recalled. The memories of later years are poor and will not come to mind.

Some deeply engraved events, the later into old age, the more vividly remembered—wanting to forget but unable to. The depth of memory is entirely determined by the manas; what the manas is not interested in, the consciousness cannot remember no matter how it tries. A person with senile dementia who does not recognize you and cannot remember you shows that you are not important to him; the person he constantly keeps in mind and heart is the most important person to him, the person he is most interested in. Also, people with senile dementia have selective memory and amnesia; this is related to karmic affinity and to the state of the brain at the time. Recollection is the function of the solitary consciousness. Elderly people cannot remember or recall recent people and events because brain function has degenerated—first unable to remember, leading later to being unable to recall.

Whether a person has you in the mouth of their consciousness or has you in the heart of their manas—having studied up to now, it is not difficult for us to judge.