Commentary on the Sutra of the Father and Son Collection (Lecture 199)

Liberating the Mind from the Bondage of All Phenomena

The principle of liberation is extensively discussed in the Āgama scriptures of the Hinayana tradition. Liberation is achieved when the mind is not bound by all phenomena. Are we not all currently bound by phenomena? Examine whether you are bound by the five aggregates—form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness—by the six sense bases of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, and by the six sense objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects. Undoubtedly, we are all bound. Therefore, we must seek methods to attain liberation.

All phenomena are encompassed within the eighteen elements. The myriad aspects of our lives—forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and mental objects—are all included within phenomena. No single principle or phenomenon lies beyond the five aggregates and eighteen elements. Indeed, our minds are bound by all phenomena. So, which specific mind is bound? The first seven consciousnesses are all bound. The seventh consciousness, the mental faculty, clings universally to all phenomena, clinging to the five aggregates and all phenomena within the eighteen elements, thus bound by the eighteen elements. Consequently, it continuously influences the sixth consciousness to likewise crave the realms of the six sense objects. In this way, one cannot attain liberation from the six sense objects, cannot escape the bitter sea of birth and death within the six realms, and thus wanders through the cycle of birth and death, afflicted by sorrow and suffering.