Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Fifty-Fourth)

What is the realm of consciousness?

Original text:大王。云何识界。谓若眼根为主。缘彼形色。及彼表色。名眼识界。若余五根。缘于自境。各别建立。名五识界。又此识界。不着于根。不住于境。非内非外。及二中间。

Explanation: Great King, what is the realm of consciousness? The meaning of the realm of consciousness is that if the eye faculty is primary and it contacts the visible form and expressive form of material sense-objects, it is called the realm of eye consciousness. If the other five faculties each contact their corresponding sense-objects, and each is established separately, they are called the five realms of consciousness. Furthermore, this realm of consciousness does not adhere to the faculties, does not abide in the sense-objects, and is neither inside nor outside, nor between the two.

What is the realm of consciousness? It refers to the six consciousnesses of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. With the eye faculty as primary, "contact" means relying and depending; the eye faculty and so forth serve as contributing conditions for the arising of the consciousness-mind. With the eye faculty as primary, contacting and depending upon the visible form (rūpa with shape) of material sense-objects — such as long and short, square and round, tall and short, fat and thin — this is called visible form, which has shape; as well as expressive form. Expressive form refers to manifested behaviors such as walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, bending and stretching, and various movements, etc. Here it says that with the eye faculty as primary, at the same time the manas is also contacting the mental sense-objects upon material sense-objects; at this time eye consciousness and mind consciousness arise, together discerning the visible form and expressive form of material sense-objects, as well as manifest color. When faculty and sense-object touch, the eye consciousness and mind consciousness produced by the tathāgatagarbha are called the realm of consciousness.

The other five faculties are also like this: with the ear faculty as primary, contacting sounds, the manas also contacts the mental sense-objects upon sounds, and the tathāgatagarbha gives rise to ear consciousness and mind consciousness, which together discern sounds; with the nose faculty as primary, contacting external scent sense-objects, nose consciousness and mind consciousness arise, together discerning scents; with the tongue faculty as primary, contacting taste sense-objects, tongue consciousness and mind consciousness arise, together discerning tastes; with the body faculty as primary, contacting tangible sense-objects, while the manas simultaneously contacts the mental sense-objects upon tangibles, body consciousness and mind consciousness arise, together discerning tangibles. These consciousnesses are called the realm of consciousness.

The realm of consciousness does not abide in the faculties, nor does it abide in the sense-objects, nor is it inside or outside the faculties and sense-objects or between them, because the realm of consciousness is formless; it does not mix together with material form, nor does it merge with it.