The Mutual Interdependence of Body and Mind

Question: Consciousness is evidently influenced by the brain organ. For instance, when fatigued and drowsy, the reasoning ability and speed of consciousness decline. Similarly, as people age, the reasoning ability and speed of consciousness also diminish. For example, to achieve success in the game of Go, players must attain accomplishments during their teens and twenties. All this indicates that consciousness is closely related to material form (rūpa). Is this the case?

Answer: The thinking activities of consciousness are indeed closely related to the material form of the brain. However, this does not indicate that consciousness possesses material attributes; it merely shows that body and mind are interdependent and mutually influential. When the body is exhausted, fatigued, or aging, the structure of the four great elements changes. Consequently, the internal six dusts (objects of the senses) manifested by the tathāgatagarbha based on these elements undergo alteration, and the subtle sense faculties (indriya) change as well. This necessitates differences in the discrimination of the mind-consciousness. As the internal six dusts manifested by the tathāgatagarbha in the subtle sense faculties gradually diminish, become distorted, and transform, the six consciousnesses—especially the mind-consciousness in perceiving the six dusts—also become increasingly laborious, distorted, and inflexible.