The Combined Functioning of the Eye Consciousness and the Mind Consciousness (I)

When the eye faculty contacts material sense-objects, this material sense-object is the inner material sense-object within the supreme faculty (rūpa-prasāda) at the back of the head, and at this point the eye consciousness arises first to discern it. Because the tathāgatagarbha first manifests the visible color (rūpa) of the material sense-object at the eye's supreme faculty, and this visible color corresponds to the eye consciousness and is also what the eye consciousness discriminates, when faculty and sense-object contact each other, the eye consciousness arises first. After the eye consciousness arises, it discerns the visible color of the inner material sense-object. At the same time, relying on the visible color that has already been manifested, the tathāgatagarbha further manifests secondary color, expressive color, and non-expressive color upon the basis of that visible color; these three kinds of form are called mental sense-objects, or form subsumed under the Dharmāyatana.

Form subsumed under the Dharmāyatana confronts the manas and the mind consciousness; it is the object discerned by the mind consciousness and belongs to the mental sense-objects. When the mental sense-objects contact the manas, the tathāgatagarbha gives rise to the mind consciousness, and the mind consciousness then discerns the form subsumed under the Dharmāyatana. Thus, when we see form, in the first instant the eye consciousness first contacts the visible color upon the inner material sense-object and discerns the visible color first; in the second instant, it is the mind consciousness that contacts the secondary color, expressive color, and non-expressive color upon the inner material sense-object, discerning the form subsumed under the Dharmāyatana; then in the third instant, the eye consciousness continues to arise, and the mind consciousness also arises continuously. So in the third instant, the eye consciousness and the mind consciousness simultaneously discern the inner material sense-object; only when the eye consciousness and the mind consciousness operate in conjunction can the inner material sense-object as a whole be completely discerned.

Only when visible color, secondary color, expressive color, and non-expressive color are simultaneously manifested upon a single material sense-object can a complete appearance of the material sense-object be formed. The eye consciousness and the mind consciousness must operate in conjunction, jointly discriminating this inner material sense-object, in order to know its visible color, secondary color, expressive color, and non-expressive color, and to discern the material sense-object completely and with perfect clarity. Neither the first instant nor the second instant can discern the material sense-object clearly, nor can one see what kind of material sense-object it is; only at the third instant can one see a little bit, because in the third instant the eye consciousness and the mind consciousness jointly discern the complete material sense-object.

The material sense-object discerned by each seed of consciousness is compared with the material sense-object discerned previously; only when somewhat more of the material sense-object has been discerned can the material sense-objects be linked together in sequence, so that the mind consciousness and the eye consciousness can know what the complete image of this form-appearance is. The seeds of consciousness stream forth one by one, discerning the material sense-object bit by bit; the form discerned by the later eye-consciousness seeds must be connected and compared with that discerned by the earlier eye-consciousness seeds, and only after being connected can one know what the form-appearance is.

When the mind consciousness first begins to discern, it is still not very clear; it cannot recollect or compare the material sense-object, nor can it analyze and judge. The first instant passes extremely quickly, the discernment is incomplete, and there is nothing to compare with, so it is blurry and vague; the second instant also passes extremely quickly, and there is still nothing to compare with, so it remains blurry, vague, and unclear; only at the third instant is a little bit discerned, grasping a rough idea of the content. Only after the third instant is there content available for comparison, so that the images of the material sense-object can be linked together in sequence, and only then can one vaguely discern a little content and know what kind of material sense-object it is. Moreover, the third instant is discerned jointly by the eye consciousness and the mind consciousness, so the material sense-object as a whole can be discerned; then this form can manifest a complete shape, and one knows only an extremely faint, rough appearance of the material sense-object. In the subsequent fourth, fifth, and sixth instants, it is still the eye consciousness and the mind consciousness jointly discerning the inner material sense-object, and the discernment becomes somewhat clearer; the longer the discernment continues, the clearer and more thorough it becomes.