Selected Lectures on the Sutra of the Meeting of Father and Son
Chapter 2 General Discussion of the Six Elements and the Six Contact Bases
Original text: 佛言大王。如是六界。六触处十八意所伺察。是补噜沙。为缘得生。云何六界。所谓地界水界。火界风界。空界识界。
Explanation: The Buddha said to King Śuddhodana: Great King, the six elements just spoken of are what can be observed and contemplated through the six contact bases and the eighteen elements; it is only by taking these six elements as conditions and relying upon them that a person can be born. What are the six elements? They are the earth element, the water element, the fire element, the wind element, the space element, and the consciousness element.
If all were like arhats abiding in nirvāṇa without remainder, there would be no five-aggregate body born and transmigrating within the world of the three realms, and consequently no manifest activity of the six elements. The six contact bases are the eye contact base, the ear contact base, the nose contact base, the tongue contact base, the body contact base, and the mind contact base; the eighteen elements are the six faculties, the six objects, and the six consciousnesses. Upon the six contact bases and the eighteen elements, one can observe the manifest existence of the six elements. "Puruṣa" is the Sanskrit word meaning "person," referring to the false self of the five aggregates. The five aggregates can only be born with the six elements as their condition; for a sentient being of the five aggregates to be born, the six great seeds must serve as conditions. Among them, the five elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and space give rise to the five-aggregate body of sentient beings, while the consciousness element gives rise to the conscious mind of sentient beings. Taken together, the six elements give rise to the sentient being's five-aggregate body: the aggregate of form, the aggregate of feeling, the aggregate of perception, the aggregate of volitional formations, and the aggregate of consciousness.
One who possesses the five aggregates and the eighteen elements is a sentient being. Where there are the five aggregates, there is contact: the eye contacts form objects, the ear contacts sound objects, the nose contacts scent objects, the tongue contacts taste objects, the body contacts tangible objects, and the manas contacts dharma objects—these are the six contact bases. Among them, the five faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body are composed of the first five of the six elements; form, sound, scent, taste, tangibility, and dharmas are likewise composed of the first five elements. The last one, the manas, is the conscious mind, generated from the consciousness element, the seed of the consciousness great element. After the six faculties have contacted the six objects, the six consciousnesses are born; only then is there the capacity for discrimination, after which feelings, thoughts, judgments, and deliberation arise, and finally a decision can be made.
Within the eighteen elements, the six faculties contacting the six objects give rise to the six consciousnesses. Once the six consciousnesses arise, the discriminating nature of the conscious mind appears along with them, and the five aggregates begin to move and operate. Among them, the five faculties and the six objects are composed of the five elements of earth, water, fire, wind, and space, while the manas and the six consciousnesses are formed by the consciousness element. The six contact bases and the eighteen elements cannot be separated from the six elements; that is to say, the five aggregates of sentient beings cannot depart from the six elements, and only with the six elements as conditions can they be born and function.
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: What are the six contact bases? They are: the eye contact base, whereby form is seen—where the eye faculty and the form object make contact, when the eye consciousness arises, form can be seen; at the place where the ear faculty contacts sound objects, the ear consciousness is born and sounds can be heard; at the place where the nose faculty contacts scent objects, the nose consciousness is born and fragrant odors, foul odors, and mixed odors can be smelled; at the place where the tongue faculty contacts taste objects, the tongue consciousness is born and the various tastes of sour, sweet, bitter, pungent, and salty can be tasted.
At the body faculty, contact with tangible objects gives rise to the body consciousness, which can feel the tangible objects. For example, upon contact with sunlight, one can feel warmth; when the wind blows, the body consciousness can feel coolness or warmth. The bodily sensations of lightness and ease, comfort, hunger, thirst, fatigue, soreness, and weariness are also tangible objects. At the mind base, the manas contacts the dharma objects, giving rise to the mind consciousness, which can then discern all realms of dharma objects.
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: What is the examination of the eighteen elements? Examination means observation, discernment, knowing, and felt experience. For example, after the eye faculty contacts the form object, the eye consciousness and the mind consciousness discern the form object; if a mental state of joy or of sorrow and vexation arises, or if one abides in the intermediate felt state that is neither joyful nor sorrowful, then three kinds of feeling appear. These three—faculty, object, and consciousness—are three elements and also constitute one pair. The remaining five faculties of ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, like the eye faculty, form five pairs. When a faculty contacts an object and a consciousness arises, felt experiences appear in the conscious mind, producing three types of feelings: joy, sorrow and vexation, or neither joy nor aversion (neutral feeling). These are respectively five pairs making fifteen elements; combined together, they make six pairs, the eighteen elements. After each faculty contacts its object, there are the three elements of faculty, object, and consciousness. The six faculties contacting the six objects, together with the six consciousnesses, constitute the eighteen elements, which respectively produce the three feelings of suffering, pleasure, and neutrality—this is what is called the eighteen examined by the mind.
