The Propagation Speed of Form Dust is the Fastest Among the Six Dusts

Question: During last night's meditation while observing the breath, I suddenly felt a flash of white light in my mind, immediately followed by the sound of a stool being moved upstairs. Was the flash of white light in my mind produced by the contact between the sense base and the sense object? Answer: The sound of the stool being moved upstairs propagated to the subtle sense base in the brain. When the sense base and sense object came into contact, consciousness arose—specifically, auditory consciousness perceived the sound. Before hearing the sound, the sound object suddenly contacted the subtle sense base, causing an unusual reaction in it. The flash of white light in the mind was that reaction. Because the five subtle sense bases are also material forms composed of the four great elements, and the sound object is likewise a material form of the four great elements, if a relatively loud sound object propagates to the subtle sense base, it can stimulate the subtle sense base of the body sense. When suddenly stimulated, the subtle sense base of the brain produces a stress response.

If this occurs during relatively quiet meditative concentration, where the mind is unprepared, and a sense object suddenly appears, the mental faculty (manas) will prompt the body sense base to have an unusual reaction. In ordinary, scattered states of mind, such sudden stimulus responses would not occur. Another example is very loud sounds, like thunder, which can vibrate the eardrum and even damage hearing. The eardrum belongs to the physical body sense base, and the vibration is a tactile object discerned by body consciousness. This demonstrates that sound objects possess material attributes; they are material forms (rūpa). Therefore, they can also be partially discerned by visual consciousness. The flash of white light in the mind was discerned by visual consciousness. In the future, when the six sense bases become interchangeable and mutually functional, hearing sounds will not require auditory consciousness, seeing forms will not require visual consciousness, smelling scents will not require olfactory consciousness, tasting flavors will not require gustatory consciousness, sensing touch will not require body consciousness, and cognizing dharmas will not require mental consciousness.

For a sense object originating from the same source, which arises first: visual consciousness seeing it, auditory consciousness hearing it, olfactory consciousness smelling it, gustatory consciousness tasting it, or body consciousness touching it? The propagation speeds of the six sense objects are certainly different. Which propagates faster still requires much observation. For example, when thunder occurs in the sky, does visual consciousness see the lightning first, or does auditory consciousness hear the thunder first? Generally, the propagation speed of form objects is faster than that of sound objects. For a sense object transmitted from the same source, visual consciousness perceives it first, followed by auditory consciousness. Another example is sunlight propagating to us: visual consciousness sees the light first, and body consciousness feels the warmth afterward.