The Relationship between Various States of Experience and the Object-Aspect

The object of essential nature (essential object) is formed when all tathāgatagarbhas each output the seeds of the four great elements, constituting the shared four great elements; the universe's material world (bhājana-loka) and the realms of the six sense-objects, created by all tathāgatagarbhas together using these four great elements, can only be seen and contacted by the tathāgatagarbha. This portion of the object-aspect is the most real object-aspect.

The object accompanied by essence (accompanied-essence object) is the realm of the six sense-objects manifested by a single tathāgatagarbha after it contacts the essential object, by absorbing the particles of the four great elements from the essential object—like an image in a mirror, carrying the particles of the four great elements from the essential object. It differs greatly from the essential object and, compared with the essential object, is somewhat more illusory. This portion of the object-aspect includes everything from the moment the tathāgatagarbha contacts the essential object and a similar object-aspect first arises, all the way up to the object-aspect before it enters the five sense organs or the five supreme faculties.

During the transmission of these object-aspects, the particles of the four great elements must pass through the filtering and absorption of intermediate media; the particles are continually filtered out, so that the object-aspect of the accompanied-essence object becomes ever more subtle, and its difference from the essential object grows ever greater—yet its connection with the essential object is still relatively strong, and its appearance is fairly similar. Apart from the tathāgatagarbha, which can see and contact this portion of the object-aspect, the manas can also see and contact it, following along with the tathāgatagarbha.

Because the manas can contact and see the accompanied-essence object before it enters the supreme faculty, it has a certain degree of discernment regarding the accompanied-essence object; it can correspondingly know the general nature and significance of the accompanied-essence object, and the five universal mental factors will arise and operate. For accompanied-essence objects that involve one's own safety and survival, the manas possesses a rapid power of decision. The tathāgatagarbha knows this decision, and so when the accompanied-essence object enters the supreme faculty and forms the object of essential nature—when the six faculties contact the six sense-objects—the six consciousnesses are brought forth with extreme speed to respond. The reaction is extremely swift, with no opportunity for the mind consciousness to analyze, deliberate, infer, or judge; the mind consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses need only obey the manas's coordination and commands, responding without needing to make their own judgment. Only afterward is there time to engage in thought, analysis, inference, and judgment, to know what one just did and what happened. This is the reason the manas can respond rapidly to sudden events.

The object of essential nature: when the accompanied-essence object passes through the five gross physical sense organs into the supreme faculty, the realm of the six sense-objects manifested within the supreme faculty becomes the object of essential nature. It is similar to the accompanied-essence object, and is called the object of essential nature, yet it also differs to some degree from the accompanied-essence object. In the course of its transmission, the accompanied-essence object must pass through the filtering of the five sense organs, and the particles of the four great elements may undergo certain changes, making the object of essential nature even more subtle, and also more unreal and illusory.

The Image-Only Object differs greatly from the object of essential nature, differs even more from the accompanied-essence object, and differs enormously from the essential object. It is initiated by the manas's grasping, arising out of nothing; the mind consciousness processes and elaborates the manas's delusions, sketching and adding details, employing erroneous cognition (non-valid cognition) and imagination to exercise an even more refined function of deluded thinking—so vividly that the imagined realm can seem to come alive. The five sense consciousnesses cannot participate in this part; it is accomplished entirely by the mind consciousness in coordination with the manas. At this time the mind consciousness is called the solitary mental consciousness, working alone on deluded imagination, sketching out scenarios.

The outer six entrances and outer six sense-objects refer to the six sense-object aspects outside the supreme faculty, which have not yet entered the supreme faculty—these should refer to the accompanied-essence object, contacted by the manas; the six consciousnesses cannot contact it, much less see it. What the six consciousnesses cannot discern does not belong to the inner representation; it should be counted as the six sense-objects outside the supreme faculty, called the outer six sense-objects.

The inner six sense-objects refer to the object of essential nature within the supreme faculty; not only can the manas contact and see them, the six consciousnesses can also contact and see them. Of course, the eighth consciousness can contact and see them even more so—for all dharmas, at whatever stage, are manifested and held by the eighth consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha; the tathāgatagarbha can naturally contact and see them, otherwise no dharma whatsoever could arise and exist.