After the Six Consciousnesses Have Acted, Which of the Internal and External Object-Aspects Changes First?

There is a saying: affliction is bodhi. "Affliction" on the one hand refers to greed, hatred, delusion, killing, arson, and other unwholesome dharmas, and on the other hand refers to everyday trivial matters such as eating, drinking, and bodily functions. "Bodhi" refers to the tathāgatagarbha. All dharmas are manifested and held by the tathāgatagarbha, and the external object-aspects are no exception. Thus the arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing of the external object-aspects are all accomplished by the tathāgatagarbha, and the internal object-aspects are of course also manifested and held by the tathāgatagarbha. All changes in mountains, rivers, and the great earth are the doing of the eighth consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha; the arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing of all dharmas are all the doing of the eighth consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha.

The six consciousnesses can never directly change the external object-aspects, because the six consciousnesses contain no seeds and do not correspond to the external object-aspects. Moreover, the six consciousnesses are dharmas that arise later; the internal object-aspects must exist first before the six consciousnesses can arise. Therefore, the six consciousnesses cannot directly change the external object-aspects. But the tathāgatagarbha contains the seeds of the four great elements and the seeds of the six great elements, so all dharmas are determined by the tathāgatagarbha. Thus the direction for investigating these questions is already very clear. Since the six consciousnesses can only contact the internal object-aspects and cannot contact the external object-aspects, how can the actions and activities of the six consciousnesses still bring about changes in the external object-aspects? Herein lies a great secret.

When my hand picks up a book from the table, the hand can only contact the internal object-aspect of the book—what is picked up is the book of the internal object-aspect—yet the book of the external object-aspect is no longer on the table, and others can neither see it nor pick it up. What, then, is the connection between the internal and external object-aspects? Which comes first, the internal object-aspect or the external object-aspect? Of course, the external object-aspect comes first. Which changes first, the external object-aspect or the internal object-aspect? Of course, the external object-aspect changes first. Where does the internal object-aspect come from? Of course, it is manifested by the eighth consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha, based on the external object-aspect. Therefore, in the change of all dharmas, the external object-aspect must change first, and then the changed external object-aspect is transmitted through the gross sense faculties to the supreme faculties (indriya), thereby forming the internal object-aspects.

But my hand cannot contact the book of the external object-aspect, so how can it first cause the book of the external object-aspect to change, thereby bringing about a change in the book of the internal object-aspect? Take another example: when the six consciousnesses create the karma of killing a person, the six consciousnesses can only contact the person's internal object-aspect and cannot contact the person's external object-aspect. So how do the six consciousnesses cause the person's external object-aspect to cease as well? Moreover, it is the person's external object-aspect that ceases and is destroyed first, and only afterward can the person's internal object-aspect subsequently cease or be destroyed. Because the internal object-aspect comes from the external object-aspect and is manifested in dependence on the external object-aspect, it must certainly be that the external object-aspect changes first, and only then can the internal object-aspect follow and change. This great secret is left for those with the affinity to investigate it carefully; no more can be written about it here.