Can There Be Five External Dusts Without External Dharmas?

A dust realm is formed only when the dharma dust combines with one of the five dusts. Dharma dust and the five dusts are inseparable; if separated, nothing would exist—there would be no form, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, and no dharma dust. In the dust composed of the union of dharma dust and the five dusts, the proportion of dharma dust is extremely large, almost dominating it. For example, form dust: color belongs to the realm of the five dusts, discerned by eye consciousness, while everything else is dharma dust, discerned by mental consciousness. Only when the discernment of these two consciousnesses are combined is the discernment of form dust complete; neither can be lacking. Especially if the dharma dust discerned by mental consciousness is absent, nothing would exist. Therefore, without dharma dust, the realm of the five dusts fundamentally cannot exist. The integral dust realm cannot lack dharma dust.

For example, the physical body of a person is composed of color and the dharma dust of form. Color is discerned by eye consciousness, while all the rest—including height, weight, build, temperament, appearance, age, personality, disposition, health or lack thereof, and so on—are contents discerned by mental consciousness. Thus, without dharma dust, there would be no physical body. Therefore, when the Tathāgatagarbha of sentient beings gives rise to their physical bodies, it must simultaneously give rise to color and dharma dust, sound and dharma dust, and so forth. These together constitute the essential realm of the sentient beings' physical bodies. When others observe them, they also perceive the illusory manifestation of sentient beings, which is their own internal six dusts. External dharma dust without the external five dusts is impossible; there is no such thing as a separate realm of the five dusts. Such a dharma does not exist in the conventional world.