Selected Lectures on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra), Part Three

Original text: 云何六触处。谓眼触处。而见于色。若耳触处。得闻其声。若鼻触处。能嗅于香。若舌触处。悉尝于味。若身触处。亲觉其触。若意触处。则知于法。

Explanation: The World-Honored One said: What are the six contact bases? It means that through the eye contact base, forms are seen; through the ear contact base, sounds are heard; through the nose contact base, scents are smelled; through the tongue contact base, flavors are tasted; through the body contact base, tangibles are personally felt; through the mind contact base, dharmas are known. The eye base is where the eye faculty contacts material sense-objects; where the eye faculty and material sense-objects touch, eye consciousness arises and forms can be seen. At the place of the ear faculty, when it contacts sound sense-objects, ear consciousness arises and sounds can be heard. At the place of the nose faculty, when it contacts scent sense-objects, nose consciousness arises and can smell fragrant scents, foul odors, and other miscellaneous smells. At the tongue faculty, when it contacts flavor sense-objects, tongue consciousness arises and can taste the various flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty. At the body faculty, when it contacts tangible sense-objects, body consciousness arises and tangibles are felt. For example, when exposed to sunlight, one can feel warmth; when wind blows on the body and the body contacts the wind, body consciousness can feel the coolness. This also includes the tranquility, comfort, hunger, thirst, fatigue, soreness, and weariness felt by the body—all of these are tangible sense-objects. At the manas, when the manas contacts mental sense-objects, mind consciousness arises and can discern all mental sense-object realms.

Original text: 云何十八意所伺察。谓眼见色已。若生适悦。若生忧恼。若住于舍。如是六根。各各缘彼。适悦等三。是名十八意所伺察。

Explanation: "伺察" (scrutiny) means observation, discernment, knowing, and felt experience. For example, after the eye faculty contacts material sense-objects, and eye consciousness and mind consciousness have discerned the material sense-objects, if a state of mind of joy or of sorrow and vexation arises, or if it abides in a neutral felt state that is neither joyful nor sorrowful, then three kinds of feeling appear—this is one faculty-object-consciousness triad against the three realms. The other five faculties—ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—are the same as the eye faculty: faculty contacts sense-object, consciousness arises, and the conscious mind will then manifest felt experiences, producing one of three kinds of mental states: joy, sorrow and vexation, or neither joy nor aversion (equanimity). These are respectively five pairs making fifteen realms; combined together, they are six pairs making eighteen realms. After each faculty contacts its sense-object, there is a triad of faculty, sense-object, and consciousness; the six faculties contacting the six sense-objects combined make the eighteen realms, which respectively give rise to the three kinds of feeling—suffering, happiness, and equanimity. These are the eighteen scrutinies by the mind.