The objects cognized by the seven consciousnesses

The nature-object is the object-aspect that the five sense consciousnesses take as their object and perceive, in which the mind consciousness does not engage in thinking and discrimination. After the five consciousnesses take it as object, whatever it is, that is what is seen—unaffected and unaltered by the mind consciousness's determination (adhimokṣa). For example, when touching sunlight, the heat-feeling body consciousness simply feels heat, with no fuss and no disputes; the dazzling eye consciousness simply sees brightness, with no fuss and no disputes. It is very direct, without the mind consciousness needing to discriminate for half a day, pondering names and concepts, or giving rise to any mental activity.

The Image-Only Object is the object taken solely by the solitary mental consciousness, with the five sense consciousnesses having nothing to do with it. When the mind consciousness gives rise to mental activity, the Image-Only Object manifests; if the mind consciousness is correct, the Image-Only Object is correct; if the mind consciousness is wrong, the Image-Only Object is wrong. The object transforms and is projected according to the mind consciousness, having no autonomy and no self-nature.

The object bearing substance must necessarily be transmitted from sentient beings' fundamental eighth consciousness. When the eighth consciousness takes as object the real dharmas composed of the most fundamental seeds of the four great elements, and the seventh consciousness then takes them as object, the eighth consciousness幻化s the real dharmas once again, producing the transformed object. At this point, the sense-object is a dharma carrying a certain degree of substantiality, which the seventh consciousness can take as object—this is called the true object bearing substance, which differs both from what the eighth consciousness takes as object and from what the sixth consciousness takes as object according to conditions.