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

If there were no material sense-objects (rūpa), the arising of consciousness would lack an important condition, and the eighth consciousness would be unable to give rise to the six consciousnesses; of course, the six consciousnesses would not exist. When a material sense-object disappears, the eye consciousness and mind consciousness that were discerning it immediately cease along with it; once consciousness has ceased, it can no longer discern the material sense-object, and there is no object to discern. Therefore, from beginningless kalpas until now, the eighth consciousness has never had a moment of leisure, has never rested, and has never stopped; it is in this way that it operates tirelessly and unceasingly, serving us selflessly.

If someone claims that he can see forms with the eye consciousness alone, is this possible? It is not possible. A form contains visible form (rūpa), shape, expressive form, and non-expressive form (avijñapti-rūpa). Visible form means colors—the colors of blue, yellow, red, and white. The eye consciousness can only discern visible form (colors); it cannot discern shape, expressive form, or non-expressive form. When a person looks at a form, he cannot merely look at the visible form (colors) of the material sense-object; he must also look at the shape of the form and its content—shape, expressive form, and non-expressive form must all be discerned. What is the essence of the form? What are its names and characteristics? All of this must be known before the discernment can be completed. Therefore, the participation and discernment of the mind consciousness is absolutely required in order to clearly know the material sense-object. Apart from colors, the remaining aspects of form belong to Form subsumed under the Dharmāyatana, which is discerned by the mind consciousness; only colors such as blue, yellow, red, and white are discerned by the eye consciousness. Only when the eye consciousness and the mind consciousness work together in harmony to discern can we know what the material sense-object actually is.

Therefore, to see a form—to see a form clearly, to analyze and judge what the perceived material sense-object actually is—the eye consciousness and the mind consciousness must necessarily operate together in harmony; only when the two discern jointly can we know what the object before us is. Before us is a book, before us are tables and chairs, before us is a cup—these objects not only have colors, but also shapes such as long, short, square, and round, as well as material texture and other contents; there is much that needs to be discerned. The eye consciousness alone could never discern them very clearly; the mind consciousness must simultaneously discern together with the eye consciousness. Only when the two operate in harmony can we see clearly the material form of these physical objects.