Mind and Body Are Interdependent

Question: The mind consciousness is clearly influenced by the brain organ. For example, when one is tired and drowsy, the reasoning ability and speed of the mind consciousness both decline; also, when a person grows old, the reasoning ability and speed of the mind consciousness decline as well. For instance, a Go player who wants to achieve good results must attain them in his teens and twenties. All of this shows that the mind consciousness is closely related to material form. Is this the case?

Answer: The thinking activity of the mind consciousness is indeed closely related to the material form of the brain, but this does not show that the mind consciousness has material properties; it can only be said that body and mind are mutually dependent and mutually influential. When the body is tired, fatigued, or aging, the structure of the four great elements of the body changes, the inner six sense-objects (inner rūpa-viṣaya) manifested by the tathāgatagarbha in accordance with it change, the supreme faculty (indriya) changes, and the discriminating activity of the consciousness-mind must accordingly differ. When the inner six sense-objects manifested by the tathāgatagarbha in the supreme faculty gradually diminish, gradually become distorted, and gradually become deformed, the discernment of the six consciousnesses—especially the mind consciousness—of the six sense-objects also gradually becomes laborious, gradually becomes distorted, and gradually becomes inflexible.