Section Five: The Fifth Inquiry into the Mind—The Mind Arises Wherever There is Contact

Original Text: Ānanda said, “I have often heard the Buddha instruct the fourfold assembly: ‘Because the mind arises, all dharmas arise. Because dharmas arise, various minds arise.’”

Explanation: Ānanda said to the Buddha, “I have often heard the Buddha instruct the fourfold assembly (the fourfold assembly refers to the two assemblies of ordained monastics—monks and nuns—and the two assemblies of lay disciples—male and female lay practitioners, collectively forming the Buddha’s fourfold assembly) that because the mind arises, all dharmas consequently arise; and because various dharmas arise, the corresponding minds arise.

The mind that can be produced is not the true mind, which is unborn and undying; it is the consciousness-mind produced by the true mind—the seven consciousnesses. After the seven consciousnesses arise, the combined operation of the eight consciousnesses produces all phenomena of the three realms. After the seven consciousnesses arise, the combined functioning of the three transforming consciousnesses gives rise to the dharmas of the five aggregates, the eighteen elements, the material universe, and all phenomena of the three realms; thus, the eighteen elements needed by sentient beings arise. Only the Tathāgatagarbha cannot independently produce the worldly dharmas of the five aggregates; it requires the cooperation of the subsequently produced seven consciousnesses, especially the presence of the seventh consciousness, which guides the Tathāgatagarbha in producing the phenomena of the three realms. What is produced subsequently is the deluded mind. The seven deluded minds are formed by the seeds of consciousness transmitted by the Tathāgatagarbha. After the seven consciousnesses arise and begin to function, bodily, verbal, and mental activities emerge, and the eight consciousnesses collectively produce all dharmas.

“Because dharmas arise, various minds arise”—after the myriad dharmas of the three realms arise, they in turn cause the arising of various minds. These “various minds” are not a single mind but the first six consciousnesses arising in dependence on dharmas. Each specific dharma corresponds to a specific mind. These “various minds” are also subsequently produced—they are the arising-and-ceasing deluded minds, not the true mind. This statement represents the gate of deluded consciousness-only. There are two gates of consciousness-only: the gate of true consciousness-only and the gate of deluded consciousness-only. The gate of true consciousness-only means that the three realms are mind-only. The three realms refer to the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm. The entire three realms of a great chiliocosm and countless great chiliocosms are all produced by one mind—the true Tathāgatagarbha mind. This is the meaning of “the three realms are mind-only.” All dharmas, the worldly dharmas of the three realms, are produced by the Tathāgatagarbha through its nature of great elements. When the Tathāgatagarbha emits the seeds of the seven great elements, it can produce the myriad dharmas of the three realms. This is called “the three realms are mind-only.”

Following “the three realms are mind-only” is “all dharmas are consciousness-only,” which refers to the gate of deluded consciousness-only. All dharmas also belong to the worldly dharmas of the three realms. Although the worldly dharmas of the three realms are all produced by the Tathāgatagarbha, if there were only the Tathāgatagarbha, it could not produce the myriad dharmas of the three realms. The gate of deluded consciousness-only is necessary—the deluded seven consciousnesses must cooperate with the true mind, the Tathāgatagarbha; the combined operation of the eight consciousnesses is required to produce the myriad dharmas of the three realms. This is the function of the three transforming consciousnesses. The gate of deluded consciousness-only means that the deluded consciousness-mind cooperates with the true mind, and the three transforming consciousnesses jointly operate to produce the myriad dharmas of the three realms. Although the myriad dharmas of the three realms are all manifested solely by the Tathāgatagarbha using its seeds, this simultaneously requires the cooperative functioning of the deluded minds of the seven consciousnesses.

The gate of deluded consciousness-only first has the seventh consciousness, the mental faculty, which then gives rise to the six consciousnesses. The seven consciousnesses together with the Tathāgatagarbha jointly produce the myriad dharmas. The Tathāgatagarbha emits the seeds of consciousness; the seeds of the mental faculty arise moment by moment and cease moment by moment, enabling the seventh consciousness to manifest and function. As soon as the seventh consciousness, the mental faculty, functions, it grasps outward. The Tathāgatagarbha, cooperating with the mental faculty, produces the material universe and the physical body, then gives rise to the six consciousnesses. Thus, the five aggregates are complete, and the myriad dharmas of the three realms arise in this way. The Tathāgatagarbha alone cannot produce the myriad dharmas of the three realms; the seven consciousnesses alone, without the Tathāgatagarbha, lack seeds and also cannot produce the myriad dharmas of the three realms. It must be the Tathāgatagarbha, the seventh consciousness (mental faculty), and the first six consciousnesses—these three transforming consciousnesses—operating together that produce the myriad dharmas of the three realms within the five-aggregate world. “Transforming consciousnesses” refers to the consciousnesses capable of transforming the myriad dharmas of the three realms.

After the myriad dharmas of the three realms arise, various minds subsequently arise. “Various minds” refers to the six consciousness-minds. For example, after a form object arises, contact occurs between the form, the form-dharma, and the sense faculty (eye). The Tathāgatagarbha produces the six consciousnesses; the eye-consciousness and mind-consciousness arise. After a sound dharma arises, contact occurs with the ear faculty; the Tathāgatagarbha produces ear-consciousness and also mind-consciousness; the ear-consciousness and mind-consciousness then cognize the sound object. This is the meaning of “because dharmas arise, various minds arise.”

As various minds arise, various dharmas are produced again. Mind and dharmas condition each other, with the Tathāgatagarbha as the cause. This cycle repeats endlessly, perpetuating the birth, death, and rebirth of sentient beings. Who exactly gives birth to whom here? For example, suppose the mental faculty now intends to type; this is the arising of the mind of the mental faculty. The mental faculty intends to type, the Tathāgatagarbha cooperates, producing the six consciousnesses. The six consciousnesses then engage in bodily, verbal, and mental activities; as the six consciousnesses function, typing occurs on a phone or computer. Thus, from the arising of this mind (the mental faculty), the six consciousnesses arise; the combined operation of the six and seventh consciousnesses produces the dharma of typing. Words appear one by one on the computer or phone; bodily, verbal, and mental actions are produced. The bodily action types, the verbal action observes, the mental action thinks; the combined operation of bodily, verbal, and mental actions produces the dharmas of these actions, and dharmas such as text and articles are born.

After various dharmas are produced, contact between various sense faculties and their objects again produces various consciousness-minds—the six consciousness-minds. For example, after text is produced, the seventh consciousness intends to proofread; the Tathāgatagarbha cooperates, producing the six consciousnesses. The six consciousnesses then begin to proofread and edit the text on the computer or phone. The eye-consciousness and mind-consciousness look at the text, the mind-consciousness contemplates the text, the body-consciousness and mind-consciousness modify and refine the text on the computer or phone, and bodily, verbal, and mental actions are produced again. As the mind arises, dharmas arise; after dharmas arise, various consciousness-minds are produced again, continuously functioning and creating new bodily, verbal, and mental actions. The essence of this whole statement is that first there is the mind (referring to the mental faculty) arising and intending to act; the Tathāgatagarbha cooperates, producing the six consciousnesses; then the six and seventh consciousnesses operate together to produce dharmas. After these dharmas are produced, the mental faculty again has mental activity; the Tathāgatagarbha again cooperates, producing the six consciousnesses; the six consciousness-minds again engage in bodily, verbal, and mental actions, producing various dharmas.

Thus, this cycle repeats endlessly: “Because the mind arises, all dharmas arise; because dharmas arise, various minds arise.” The mind can produce dharmas as one condition for their arising. After dharmas arise, they also serve as a condition for the arising of the six consciousness-minds. Mind and dharmas mutually condition each other, mutually producing and assisting each other. Thus, dharmas, plus the minds of the six and seventh consciousnesses, continuously arise and function, perpetuating the five-aggregate world of sentient beings without end. This is the true meaning of “the three realms are mind-only, all dharmas are consciousness-only”—the combined operation of the eight consciousnesses producing all dharmas of the world.

Original Text: “I now contemplate: this contemplating entity is indeed my mind-nature. Wherever there is contact, the mind is present there. It is not located internally, externally, or in between—not in any of these three places.”

Explanation: Ānanda said, “The mind-entity that I can now contemplate and deliberate with is indeed my mind-nature. Wherever the sense faculty and its object come into contact, the mind manifests there. It is not located inside the body, outside the body, or in between—not in any of these three places.”

Ānanda took the mind-entity capable of thinking, planning, and intending as his true mind. In reality, this is still the arising-and-ceasing mind-consciousness. By stating this so definitively as his true mind, he was essentially mistaking the false for the true.

“Contact” generally refers to the place where the six sense faculties meet the six sense objects. For example, when a form object appears and the eye faculty contacts the form, consciousness arises. When the faculty and object contact each other, the mind manifests. When the ear faculty contacts a sound, ear-consciousness manifests. When the nose faculty contacts an odor, nose-consciousness manifests. When the tongue faculty contacts a taste, tongue-consciousness manifests on the taste object. It is the same for touch objects and mental objects (dharmas). Wherever a dharma appears and contacts its corresponding sense faculty, consciousness manifests at that point.

Ānanda meant that his mind appears wherever sense objects appear, and thus this arising mind has no fixed location—it is not inside the body, not outside the body, and not in between. Since the Buddha had previously refuted the consciousness-mind being located inside, outside, or in between the body, Ānanda avoided these three locations in his inquiry about the mind’s whereabouts. This time, Ānanda affirmed that his mind is indeed not in the three places of inside, outside, or in between, but rather manifests wherever dharmas appear, present wherever contact occurs. Ānanda took his contemplating, deliberating mind as his true mind-nature, mistaking the false for the true. The mind capable of contemplation is, of course, the nature of the mind-consciousness—arising, ceasing, and deluded. Ānanda had not yet realized this at this point.

Original Text: The Buddha told Ānanda, “You now say that because dharmas arise, various minds arise, and wherever there is contact, the mind is present there. But this mind has no substance; therefore, it cannot make contact. If something without substance can make contact, then it would be like there being a nineteenth element arising from the contact with a seventh sense object. This principle is untenable.”

Explanation: The Buddha told Ānanda, “You now say that because dharmas arise, various minds arise, and wherever the dharma makes contact, the mind manifests there. But this mind you speak of has no self-nature; therefore, it cannot make contact. If a mind without self-nature could make contact, it would be equivalent to there being a nineteenth element (dhātu) arising from the contact with a seventh sense object. This is illogical.”

The mind Ānanda spoke of has no self-nature because it is produced and determined by dharmas; without dharmas, there is no mind. Such a mind cannot determine its own existence and thus cannot make contact with dharmas. If your mind has no substance yet can make contact with dharmas, that would imply the existence of a nineteenth element, arising because of contact with a seventh sense object. A seventh sense object is utterly non-existent, having no characteristics or self-nature; it cannot come into contact to form a nineteenth element. Besides the six sense faculties, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses making the eighteen elements, a nineteenth element cannot be found. If a nineteenth element existed, it would require a seventh sense object to contact the six faculties, six objects, and six consciousnesses to form it. In reality, this is impossible. Similarly, the six consciousnesses also have no self-nature; they have no origin, no destination, and no fixed location—how could they make contact? Since the six consciousnesses cannot make contact, one cannot say “wherever there is contact, the mind is present there.”

The seventh sense object and the nineteenth element are like the hair of a turtle or the horns of a rabbit—utterly non-existent. The contemplating consciousness-mind is similarly deluded and without substance, just like turtle hair or rabbit horns. What has no substance cannot make contact; it cannot make contact with any dharma. Therefore, “wherever there is contact, the mind is present there” is incorrect.

Original Text: “If it has substance, then, as when you pinch your own body with your hand, is this knowing mind of yours coming from within or entering from without? If it comes from within, it should see the inside of your body. If it enters from without, it should first see your face.” Ānanda said, “Seeing pertains to the eye; knowing pertains to the mind, not the eye. To say that seeing [pertains to the mind] is incorrect.”

Explanation: If the mind you speak of has substance, then, for example, when you pinch your own body with your hand, a mind capable of perception arises. Is this perceiving consciousness-mind coming from inside your body or entering from outside? If this perceiving consciousness-mind is coming from inside your body, knowing that you pinched yourself, this consciousness should be able to see inside your body. If this perceiving mind is entering from outside your body, it should first see your face. Ānanda argued, “Seeing and perceiving all dharmas is the function of the eye faculty, not the mind’s knowing. Knowing is the function of the mind-consciousness; seeing the face is done by the eye, not by the eye-consciousness mind.”

The Buddha then made a further supposition: If this consciousness-mind you speak of, Ānanda, has substance, then is this mind-substance coming from inside your body or entering from outside? For example, when you take your own hand and pinch your arm, pinch your leg, or touch your face—once the touch occurs, the body faculty contacts the object, and a perceiving mind arises, knowing you touched yourself. Where does this knowing consciousness-mind come from? Is it coming from inside your body or entering from outside?

If the mind comes from inside, it should know the condition inside the body—such as the flow of blood, the twisting of sinews and pulses, the muscles and bones, the internal temperature, and various internal conditions. You should be able to perceive everything inside your body. But your mind now does not know the condition of the blood flow, does not know the temperature, does not know the muscles and bones, does not know the movement of gases inside, does not know cellular metabolism—it knows nothing of the body’s interior. This shows that your consciousness-mind is not coming from inside the body.

If this knowing consciousness-mind enters from outside the body, knowing that you touched yourself, then this knowing consciousness-mind should first see your face. But you cannot see your own face now; this shows that the consciousness-mind is not entering from outside. Therefore, since the consciousness-mind neither comes from within nor enters from without, it shows that the consciousness-mind has no substance; it is deluded. Through this passage, the Buddha shows that the idea of a mind without self-nature being present wherever there is contact is incorrect.

Original Text: The Buddha said, “If the eye can see, then when you are in a room, can the door see? If the door could see, then those who have died still have eyes present; they should all be able to see objects. If they can see objects, how can they be called dead?”

Explanation: The Buddha said, “If the eye faculty can see, then when you are in a room, can the door see? If the door could see, then those who have already died still have eyes present; they should all be able to see objects. If dead people’s eyes could see objects, what is meant by death?”

This is a crucial analogy. For example, Ānanda is in a room and sees objects outside through the door. This door is analogous to Ānanda’s eye faculty. The Ānanda inside the room is analogous to the consciousness-mind. The Buddha said: If your eye faculty can see the external form objects, then the door of the room should be able to see the external objects. The door is like your eye; the consciousness-mind is like you, Ānanda, inside the room. Now, tell me, is it the door that sees the external form objects or the consciousness-mind Ānanda that sees? Is it the eye faculty that sees or the eye-consciousness?

The Buddha said: If the door could see the external form objects, then by analogy, if your Ānanda’s eye faculty could see external form objects, then dead people all have eye faculties; dead people should also be able to see objects. If dead people could see objects, how could they be called dead? They should still be alive. The above analogy and metaphor refute Ānanda’s view, showing that what sees objects is the consciousness-mind, not the faculty. If the faculty could see, dead people also have faculties; dead people should be able to see. But dead people cannot see objects; if they could see objects, they would not be dead.

Your Ānanda’s eye faculty is like a door frame. If the door frame cannot see the external form objects, then the eye faculty also cannot see the external form objects. What sees the external form objects is you, Ānanda—analogous to your eye-consciousness. It is the eye-consciousness mind of sentient beings that can see. This shows that it is the consciousness-mind that sees, not the faculty. This refutes Ānanda’s sophistry. It shows that what sees is not the eye, but the consciousness-mind. Since the consciousness-mind can see, and your consciousness-mind now cannot see your own face, it shows that your consciousness-mind did not enter from outside the body nor did it come from inside the body. This means the consciousness-mind has no location; having no location means it has no substance. Having no substance means it is deluded; it is not your mind-nature. You cannot take this contemplating mind as your true mind-nature to realize.

Original Text: “Ānanda, moreover, this perceiving, knowing mind of yours—if it must have substance, is it one substance or many substances? Now, in your body, is it pervasive throughout the body or not pervasive? If it is one substance, then when you pinch one limb, all four limbs should feel it. If they all feel it, the pinch would have no specific location.

Explanation: “Suppose, Ānanda, this knowing consciousness-mind of yours must have substance. Then I ask you, is this substance one with the body or multiple? Is the consciousness-mind pervasive throughout your body or not pervasive, located only in one place? If your perceiving, knowing mind is one substance with the body, then when you pinch one arm, all four limbs should feel it. If all four limbs feel it, then the so-called pinch would have no specific location.”

Suppose the perceiving, knowing mind is one substance with the body. Then, when your hand pinches one arm, your other arm and both legs—all four limbs—should feel it. When you touch one location on the body, other locations should also feel it; perception should arise everywhere. But sentient beings are not like this; it shows that perception is not one substance with the body. If pinching one arm causes all four limbs to feel it, how could it be called a pinch? What meaning would pinching one arm have? If touching your head causes your foot to know, what meaning would touching the head have? It would be meaningless.

Original Text: “If the pinch has a specific location, then your [claim of] one substance cannot hold. If it is many substances, then you become many persons. Which substance is you?

Explanation: The Buddha continued, “If pinching or touching the body has a specific location where it is felt, and the whole body feels it, then the mind being one substance with the body is incorrect. Suppose the perceiving mind is multiple substances with the body, not one substance. Then you, Ānanda, become multiple persons. Which substance is you, Ānanda?”

For example, when you pinch your arm, one mind-substance appears; when you pinch your foot, another mind-substance appears; when you touch your nose, another mind-substance appears; when you touch your eye, another mind-substance appears. Then how many mind-substances do you have, Ānanda? Clearly, this proposition is untenable. One mind-substance is one person. If you have this many mind-substances, you, Ānanda, have this many persons. Which mind-substance do you take as Ānanda? Do you take the mind-substance that feels the arm pinch as Ānanda, or the one that feels the nose touch, or the one that feels the eye touch? Taking any one as Ānanda is incorrect. Therefore, the idea that you, Ānanda, have multiple mind-substances is incorrect.

Original Text: “If it is pervasive, it is the same as the previous case of pinching. If it is not pervasive, then when you touch your head and also touch your foot, the head would feel it, but the foot should feel nothing. Now, this is not the case for you. Therefore, you should know that ‘wherever there is contact, the mind is present there’ is incorrect.”

Explanation: The Buddha said, “If your perceiving mind-substance is pervasive throughout the body, it is as stated before—pinching one place causes the whole body to feel it. If perception is not pervasive throughout the body, being located only in one part, then when you touch your head and simultaneously touch your foot, the head would feel it, but the foot should feel nothing. Since this is not the case, you should know that ‘wherever there is contact, the mind is present there’ is without basis.”

If perception is not pervasive throughout the body—suppose the mind-substance is in your head. When you touch your waist with your hand, your waist should feel nothing. But when you touch your waist with your hand, your waist does indeed feel it. This shows that the mind-substance not being pervasive throughout the body is also incorrect.

The Buddha refuted all possible scenarios for the existence of a mind-substance, showing that Ānanda’s view that the mind has substance is incorrect. Ānanda’s claim that his mind has substance is wrong because this mind has no substance. Without substance, it cannot make contact. For example, a turtle has no hair, so one cannot discuss turtle hair; a rabbit has no horns, so one cannot discuss rabbit horns—it is all meaningless. Ānanda, this contemplating, deliberating entity you take as your true mind is incorrect. Thus, the Buddha refuted Ānanda’s fifth inquiry into the mind.