Brief Discussion on Material Elements (Draft)

8. What object-aspects do the essential realm, the realm bearing substance, the nature realm, the subjectively imagined realm, the outer six sense-objects, and the inner six sense-objects each refer to?

The essential realm refers to the four great elements that all tathāgatagarbhas each output as seeds, forming the common four great elements; the universe and material world (the vessel-containing world) and the realms of the six sense-objects are jointly created by all tathāgatagarbhas using these four great elements, and only the tathāgatagarbha can see and contact them. This part of the object-aspect is the most real object-aspect.

The realm bearing substance refers to the realms of the six sense-objects manifested by an individual tathāgatagarbha after contacting the essential realm, by absorbing the particles of the four great elements from the essential realm—like an image in a mirror, carrying the particles of the four great elements from the essential realm. It differs greatly from the essential realm; compared with the essential realm, it is somewhat illusory. This part of the object-aspect includes everything from the moment the tathāgatagarbha contacts the essential realm and a similar object-aspect arises instantaneously, all the way up to the object-aspect before it enters the five sense organs or the five supreme faculties (indriya).

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 of the four great elements are continuously filtered out, so that the object-aspect of the realm bearing substance becomes increasingly subtle, and its difference from the essential realm grows ever greater; yet its connection with the essential realm is still relatively strong, and its appearance is also fairly similar. Apart from the tathāgatagarbha, which can see and contact this part of the object-aspect, the manas, following along with the tathāgatagarbha, can also see and contact it.

Because the manas can contact and see the realm bearing substance before it enters the supreme faculty, it has a certain degree of discernment regarding the realm bearing substance, and can correspondingly know the rough nature and significance of the realm bearing substance; the five universal mental factors will arise and operate, and for realms bearing substance that involve one's own safety and peril, there will be a rapid power of decision. The tathāgatagarbha can know this decision, and when the realm bearing substance enters the supreme faculty and forms the nature realm—when the six faculties contact the six sense-objects—the six consciousnesses will arise extremely quickly to respond; the reaction is extremely swift, without giving the mind consciousness any opportunity for analysis, deliberation, inference, or judgment. The mind consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses only need to obey the manas's deployment and commands, responding and reacting without needing to make their own judgment; only afterward is there time to engage in deliberation, 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 nature realm: when the realm bearing substance passes through the five gross sense organs and enters the supreme faculty, the realms of the six sense-objects manifested within the supreme faculty become the nature realm. It is similar to the realm bearing substance, and is called the nature realm, yet it also has a certain difference from the realm bearing substance. During transmission, the realm bearing substance must pass through the filtering of the five sense organs, and the particles of the four great elements may undergo certain changes, making the nature realm even more subtle, and also more unreal and illusory.

The subjectively imagined realm differs greatly from the nature realm, differs even more from the realm bearing substance, and differs enormously from the essential realm. It is initiated by the manas's grasping, arising out of nothing; the mind consciousness processes and elaborates the manas's delusions, depicts and adds details, employs non-valid cognition (imagination) to exercise even more refined functions of deluded thinking, and can even make the imagined realm appear vivid and lifelike. The five sense consciousnesses cannot participate in this part; it is entirely accomplished by the mind consciousness in coordination with the manas. At this time, the mind consciousness is called solitary consciousness (mano-vijñāna-eka-citta), independently carrying out the work of imagination, sketching out scenes.

The outer six entrances and outer six sense-objects refer to the object-aspects of the six sense-objects outside the supreme faculty, which have not yet entered the supreme faculty; these should refer to the realm bearing substance, contacted by the manas. The six consciousnesses cannot contact them, much less see them. What the six consciousnesses cannot discern does not belong to the inner object-aspect, and 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 nature realm 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—whatever stage a dharma may be at, all dharmas are manifested and upheld by the eighth consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha; the tathāgatagarbha can of course contact and see them, otherwise no dharma whatsoever could arise and exist.