Samyuktāgama (294), Part One

(1) Original text: 尔时。世尊告诸比丘。愚痴无闻凡夫无明覆。爱缘系得此识身。内有此识身。外有名色。此二因缘生触。此六触入所触。愚痴无闻凡夫苦乐受觉。因起种种。云何为六。眼触入处。耳鼻舌身。意触入处。

Explanation: The World-Honored One said to the bhikṣus: Ignorant worldlings without learning, obscured by ignorance, have their six consciousness bodies bound by the conditioning of craving. Within there is this body of consciousness; outside there is nāma-rūpa. From the conjunction of these two conditions, contact arises. Through these six contact bases, contact occurs, and ignorant worldlings give rise to various feelings of suffering and happiness. What are the six? The eye contact base, the ear, nose, tongue, and body contact bases, and the mind contact base.

The minds of sentient beings are all obscured by ignorance. If ignorance is removed and the mind-ground radiates light, all matters and principles will become clear. The Buddha's mind has no covering; His mind radiates light illuminating heaven and earth, and the dharmadhātus of the ten directions are all brightly lit. Every worldling has the conditioning of craving binding the mind, and thus there arise the eye consciousness body, ear consciousness body, nose consciousness body, tongue consciousness body, and mind consciousness body. These six consciousness bodies are called the body of consciousness; without craving, there would be none of these consciousness bodies. With the six consciousness bodies, one contacts the eleven kinds of material form as well as mental dharmas, and feelings of suffering, happiness, and neutral feeling arise.

Sentient beings have this body of six consciousnesses because of craving accumulated over beginningless kalpas. Why are the six consciousnesses the consciousnesses within the body? Because they are produced within the supreme faculties. Why does nāma-rūpa belong to the outer body? Because nāma-rūpa is the external entrance; it enters from outside the supreme faculties into the supreme faculties and makes contact with the six consciousnesses, and then feelings arise. Thereafter, bodily, verbal, and mental actions continue without cease, and the six consciousnesses continue without cease. When the six faculties do not contact the six sense objects, the six consciousnesses cease; when the six consciousnesses cease, there are no various things—there is nothing at all. Speaking up to this point, we are now clear about this chain of the twelve links of dependent origination, and clear about all the activities of the five-aggregate body: if bodily, verbal, and mental actions do not cease, the six consciousnesses will certainly keep arising. The mind always has grasping, so the six consciousnesses have no choice but to keep manifesting to serve you. When the consciousness mind does not cease, there is a future life—this is the cause of the next life.