The Illusion of Myopia and Presbyopia

Nearsightedness and presbyopia are mainly related to organic degeneration of the gross sense faculty (the physical eye). The particles of the four great elements transmitted through the gross sense faculty become somewhat distorted, causing the image formed in the supreme faculty (indriya) to be deformed and no longer conform to the original appearance. What the eye consciousness and mind consciousness discern is therefore distorted material sense-objects (rūpa-viṣaya), which is why glasses are needed to correct and compensate for the pathology of the gross sense faculty. In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the World-Honored One spoke of people whose retinas have impairments, or who have cataracts: when they look at a lamp's light, they see a circular shadow appear within the lamplight, when in fact there is no circular shadow in the lamplight—others cannot see it. It is because a bit of excess flesh has grown on the retina of the person with eye disease, obstructing the transmission of the four great element particles of the external material sense-objects, so that a dark spot appears in the supreme faculty at the back of the brain—that is the circular shadow. The inner material sense-object lamplight seen by the eye consciousness and mind consciousness then has the circular shadow in it; it is not entirely bright.

When one closes one's eyes to rest the spirit, the breath settles and the mind is at ease. When the eyes look at objects, qi and blood must be expended; excessive use of the eyes causes qi deficiency and blood depletion. When the body's organs, such as the liver and kidneys, lack sufficient qi and blood and become deficient, it leads to fatigue, swelling, and pain in the eyeballs, giving rise to pathologies such as nearsightedness and presbyopia, blurred vision, and the need for reading glasses or nearsighted glasses to assist in seeing text and so forth. Although a person with eye disease sees things blurred and unclear, other normal people viewing the same objects and text see them normally, clearly and distinctly. Therefore, the forms seen by each sentient being are all the false and illusory forms within the black box of one's own supreme faculty, not the true and real forms outside.

After putting on glasses, when one sees forms again they appear clear and normal, yet the forms seen are even more illusory and unreal. The tathāgatagarbha takes in the particles of the external material sense-objects that travel through the air onto the glasses. These particles differ somewhat from the actual external material sense-objects; the glass lenses of the glasses block out a portion of the particles, then magnify the material sense-object, turning it into an illusory appearance composed of a false, similar arrangement and combination of particles, which is then transmitted to the gross sense faculty of the eye, where the particles are again partially blocked. Passing through the eye's vitreous body and optic nerve, they are transmitted into the supreme faculty, becoming an inner material sense-object that is even more false and illusory than before, appearing slightly larger than before, so that the eye consciousness and mind consciousness can easily recognize it. So how can there be anything real in what the six consciousnesses discern? What necessity is there to cling to the likes and dislikes, rights and wrongs of sounds?

Questions for contemplation: First, when a nearsighted or presbyopic person does not wear glasses, are the forms they see as they truly are? Second, when wearing glasses, are the forms they see as they truly are? Third, when the eyes are normal, are the forms seen as they truly are, real?

Conclusion: Whatever can change in accordance with conditions—where the conditions change, the dharma changes—that dharma is certainly a false dharma, an illusory dharma, an unreal dharma, and should be negated, not taken as true, nor regarded as self or belonging to self. So do you still believe what your fleshy eyes see? Do you believe what the six consciousnesses know and perceive? Finally: is everything you know correct? Are you still self-confident? And last of all: do you still take the false as real? Do you want to take the real as real? Will you be able to take the real as real in the future? How can one take the real as real?