Why is it that the farther away the objects of the six sense fields are, the less clear the others become?

Regardless of whether sentient beings possess the five material sense faculties, the manas, relying on the tathāgatagarbha, can condition all dharmas, as long as the tathāgatagarbha can perceive all dharmas. When the tathāgatagarbha conditions the outer six sense objects, it takes in the particles of the four great elements of the outer six sense objects and instantly forms images identical to the outer six sense objects, which the manas can then condition. If there are the five gross physical sense organs and the supreme faculties, the tathāgatagarbha further transmits them to the five gross physical sense organs, and the manas can still condition them; when they are further transmitted to the supreme faculties, the manas can condition them even more readily. From the instant the tathāgatagarbha takes in the outer six sense objects until the particles of the four great elements are transmitted into the supreme faculties, the images along this path are constantly arising, ceasing, and changing; in between there is the obstructing effect of intermediary media, and the quantity and arrangement of the particles of the four great elements are affected and undergo change, so the images change accordingly. The greater the distance to the supreme faculties, the greater the change in the images.

Therefore, when we look at distant objects, they appear blurry and indistinct; the farther away a sound is, the fainter and less clear it sounds; the farther away a scent object is, the fainter it is; the farther away sunlight is, the less heat it carries—all of these are the result of the images of the six sense objects being obstructed by intermediary media, causing changes in the particles of the four great elements.

Because the manas can condition the six sense objects before they are transmitted to the supreme faculties, when encountering major and sudden sense-object situations, the manas will react very rapidly in advance, as if it had made preparations beforehand.