Commentary on *The Scripture of the Collected Teachings of the Father and Son* (70)

What is the Ear Base

Original Text: Great King, what is the ear base? It refers to the pure form created by the four great elements. Its characteristics are as previously described. Great King, all dharmas are liberated, decisively and presently manifest, like the emptiness of the Dharma realm, which cannot be artificially established.

Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, what is the ear base? The ear base is the pure form created by the four great elements. Its appearance is similar to that of the eye base, born from the combination of the four great elements. When the four great elements are pure, the ear base is pure, and within it, not even the slightest dharma can be obtained. Because the four great elements are empty, the ear base is inherently empty; because the four great elements are liberated, the ear base is fundamentally liberated, with no dharma capable of binding sentient beings. Great King, all dharmas are originally liberated, and their state of liberation is everywhere revealing and manifesting itself, just like the emptiness of the ultimate Dharma realm, which is inherently so and not established by human effort.

The ear base refers to the ear faculty, including both the external and internal ear faculties, all formed by the pure four great elements. Therefore, it is itself a pure form, free from afflictions and defilements. "Pure" here means devoid of joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure, and without greed, affection, pleasure, or aversion. When the ear faculty comes into contact with sound objects, it never claims to like or dislike any sound—it lacks mental activities, and neither virtuous nor unvirtuous mental activities exist within it. Defilement arises from the mind being defiled; the ear faculty itself is undefiled. The earth, water, fire, and wind that constitute the ear faculty are empty; thus, the ear base is also empty, and its intrinsic nature is ultimately unobtainable. The nature of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—is ultimately unobtainable, and so too is the ear base.