The Relationship Between the Physical Body and the Conscious Mind

When the physical body is in poor condition, it can affect the six consciousnesses and the manas. The physical sense organ is merely a thing made of the four great elements, like a piece of wood, without any feeling or sensation. If the body itself could feel, then the body of a dead person should also be able to feel, and wood and stones should also be able to feel. That which can feel must be the conscious mind, not material form. Body and mind mutually influence each other: because the states of the body's four great elements differ, the inner sense-objects manifested by the tathāgatagarbha in accordance with them also differ—especially the tactile sense-objects differ—and thus the feelings experienced by the conscious mind differ, thoughts and behavior differ, and the decisions made also differ. By the same token, the conscious mind can also influence and change the material four great elements of the body. When the manas believes it can accomplish certain things and its willpower is tenacious, even if the physical body is not in good condition, it can still perform very well, and the condition of the physical body can likewise be changed.