Ceasing the afflictions of worldly toil, realizing tranquility and coolness

Question: I have been contemplating the meaning of "mental sense-objects" (dharmāyatana). Form subsumed under the Dharmāyatana should refer not only to the subtle forms perceived by the mind consciousness, but also to the coarse forms perceived by the consciousnesses of eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body. Because form and mind are relative to each other, there is the concept of form as a sense-object, yet there is no such name as "mind-dust"; rather, the mental sense-object subsumes both, with form occupying one half and mind the other half—dharma includes both material dharmas and mental dharmas.

The forms seen by Aniruddha without eyes include both coarse and subtle forms; if he could not see coarse forms, how could he see subtle forms? Seeing forms without eyes means there is no eye faculty and thus no eye consciousness, so of course it is only the mind consciousness that sees forms. The form subsumed under the Dharmāyatana that he sees is distinct and clear in both coarse and subtle aspects.

Answer: The eleven material dharmas are: the eye faculty, ear faculty, nose faculty, tongue faculty, body faculty, form sense-object, sound sense-object, smell sense-object, taste sense-object, touch sense-object, and lastly, form subsumed under the Dharmāyatana.

Form subsumed under the Dharmāyatana includes: the mental sense-object subsumed under the form sense-object base, the mental sense-object subsumed under the sound sense-object base, the mental sense-object subsumed under the smell sense-object base, the mental sense-object subsumed under the taste sense-object base, and the mental sense-object subsumed under the touch sense-object base.

The mental sense-objects of form subsumed under the Dharmāyatana cannot appear alone; they must appear simultaneously with the five sense-objects and are discerned by the mental consciousness accompanying the five sense consciousnesses (pañcavijñāna-sahagata-manovijñāna). Therefore, when the conscious mind discerns form subsumed under the Dharmāyatana, the coarse appearances of the five sense-objects must appear simultaneously; without these coarse appearances, there would be no subtle appearances. Aniruddha had no eye faculty, and his physical eyes could not see forms; he saw forms entirely with the divine eye. When the divine eye sees forms, there is no form it cannot see.

The conceptual scope of "mental sense-object" is extremely broad: all dharmas are dharmas, and all are called mental sense-objects. "Dust" refers to worldly appearances—like dust motes, they do not linger even for a moment. In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the World-Honored One called them "guest-dust" (客尘): they are guests in the world, unable to dwell permanently in the world, arising and then ceasing—they are not the host.

And the host of the world is the eighth consciousness. The eighth consciousness is also a dharma, an unborn and unceasing dharma, an ever-abiding dharma; but it is not dust, not a dusty appearance drifting through the world and then vanishing, not an appearance of dusty toil and affliction—it is the transcendent appearance of tranquility and coolness. So if someone is burning with affliction, he should quickly hide within the eighth consciousness.

How to hide? Contemplate that all worldly phenomena are the eighth consciousness without remainder; contemplate that all appearances arising from one's own mind are the eighth consciousness without remainder; contemplate that the six faculties are all the eighth consciousness without remainder; contemplate that all the discriminating and knowing nature of one's own mind is the eighth consciousness without remainder; contemplate that all the feelings of one's own mind are the eighth consciousness without remainder. In this way, the functions and activities of the faculties, sense-objects, and consciousnesses—the five aggregates—are all the eighth consciousness. Since everything is the eighth consciousness, what is there left to discriminate about, what is there to suffer over? Where would there be any appearance of affliction or any appearance of suffering?

After contemplating in this way, suffering will cease and be extinguished; one will attain coolness and tranquility, and enter into the tranquil nirvāṇa, wrapped up snugly by the eighth consciousness, not seeing a single dharma of the world—is this not bliss! Drinking alone the sweet nectar of the eighth consciousness—is this not refreshing!

However, if one cannot find the eighth consciousness, how can one hide within it? This is a semblance of hiding, an imagined hiding, not true hiding; one cannot hide for long and will come out again—it is not ultimate. What then? Quickly awaken to the eighth consciousness, quickly perfect the bodhisattva's six pāramitās and the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment. A semblant true-suchness samādhi cannot function genuinely and lacks real power; one must still attain awakening to give rise to genuine true-suchness samādhi. Only then is there something to rely upon, and only then is it ultimate.

Contemplation before awakening is called imagination and conjecture; only after awakening does one have the ability and wisdom to contemplate, and only then can one truly extinguish suffering and attain coolness. Nevertheless, contemplation before awakening also has a certain function: it can temporarily suppress afflictions.