The Black Box World (42)

When we become aware of the six dusts, the six dusts are the phenomena manifested upon the mind. Thus, to perceive objects should be to perceive the mind. Without the mind, there would be no objects; objects are objects within the mind—there are no objects outside the mind. When the eye sees a flower, the eighth consciousness contacts the flower through the eye faculty, transforming it into a shadow of the flower, much like an image appearing in a mirror. This manifests the flower's shadow within the black box at the back of the brain. Then, the inner eye faculty contacts the shadow dust of the flower, and the mental faculty contacts the dharma dust on the flower. Based on this, the eighth consciousness generates the eye consciousness and mental consciousness. These two consciousnesses then differentiate the shadow of the flower. This shadow is identical to the external flower that our eye faculty perceives, leading us to believe that what we see is the external flower. In reality, it is not; it is all shadow dust within the black box.

Therefore, when we observe flowers or other material objects, we should understand that the appearances of these objects are conjointly manifested by our eye consciousness, mental consciousness, mental faculty, and eighth consciousness. At this moment, we should introspect within the act of seeing the object\: which part is the eye consciousness, which is the mental consciousness, which is the mental faculty, and which is the eighth consciousness. In this way, the mind can connect with objects, and objects can connect with the mind. The actual flower outside is conjointly manifested by the eighth consciousnesses of sentient beings sharing collective karma. It is equally illusory and unreal, dependent entirely upon the seeds of the four great elements within the eighth consciousnesses of all sentient beings sharing that collective karma to manifest. All eighth consciousnesses collectively sustain the flower. Similarly, the sounds we hear, the scents and odors we smell, the sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy tastes we experience, and so forth—all arise in the same manner.