The Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Volume Three: The Ear Entrance Is the Wondrous True Suchness Nature of the Tathāgatagarbha

Original text: 阿难。譬如有人。以两手指。急塞其耳。耳根劳故。头中作声。兼耳与劳。同是菩提。瞪发劳相。因于动静。二种妄尘。发闻居中。吸此尘象。名听闻性。此闻离彼。动静二尘。毕竟无体。

Explanation: Ānanda, for example, if someone presses the fingers of both hands tightly into their two ears, because of the fatigue of the ear faculty, a buzzing sound will arise in the head. Both the ear faculty and the fatigue of the fingers touching the ears are illusory, worldly appearances manifested by the operation of the bodhi mind. The ear faculty, relying on the two kinds of illusory sense-objects of motion and stillness, gives rise to the hearing nature within the fatigue of the fingers touching the ear faculty. The hearing nature absorbs these appearances of motion and stillness and manifests them; this is called the nature of hearing. When this hearing nature departs from those two sense-objects of motion and stillness, it ultimately has no self-nature of its own. That is to say, without motion and stillness there would be no hearing nature; apart from sense-objects, there is no consciousness and no hearing.

Original text: 如是阿难。当知是闻。非动静来。非于根出。不于空生。何以故。若从静来。动即随灭。应非闻动。若从动来。静即随灭。应无觉静。若从根生。必无动静。如是闻体。本无自性。若于空出。有闻成性。即非虚空。又空自闻。何关汝入。是故当知。耳入虚妄。本非因缘。非自然性。

Explanation: It is thus, Ānanda. You should know that this hearing nature does not come from motion and stillness, does not emerge from the ear faculty, and does not arise from empty space. Why is this said? If the hearing nature came from the appearance of stillness, then when the appearance of motion appears, the hearing nature would vanish and disappear, and it would then be unable to hear the appearance of motion. If the hearing nature came from motion, then when the appearance of stillness appears, the hearing nature would vanish and disappear, and you would no longer be able to perceive the appearance of stillness.

If the hearing nature emerged from the ear faculty, it would follow the attributes of the ear faculty, which possess neither the appearance of motion nor the appearance of stillness; then it would not hear any motion or stillness at all. Such a hearing nature would originally have no self-nature of its own. If the hearing nature came forth from empty space, then empty space would possess a hearing nature, and it could no longer be called empty space; moreover, it would be empty space itself doing the hearing—what would that have to do with your ear faculty? Therefore, it should be known that the hearing of the ear faculty is illusory; it is originally not a matter of causes and conditions, nor is it a matter of natural spontaneity—it is the nature of the tathāgatagarbha.