Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (72)

The Three Modes of the Eye Faculty Contacting the Form Object

Original text:大王。诸根各各。乐着境界。眼缘色时。而生爱乐。是故说色。为眼境界。又此眼根。缘于色境。有三种相。见可爱色。起于贪想。不可爱色。起于嗔想。非爱非恶。而起舍想。

Explanation: The Buddha said: Great King, the six faculties each delight in and cling to their own corresponding objects. When the eye faculty contacts form sense-objects, the mind gives rise to delight; therefore it is said that form is the object realm of the eye faculty. Furthermore, when the eye faculty contacts the form object realm, three modes arise: the first mode is that when the eye faculty contacts lovable form sense-objects, the mind gives rise to thoughts of greed and craving; the second mode is that when the eye faculty contacts unlovable form sense-objects, the mind gives rise to thoughts of anger and resentment; the third mode is that when the eye faculty contacts form sense-objects that are neither lovable nor hateful, the mind gives rise to a thought of equanimity, neither loving nor averse.

The eye faculty delights in and clings to the form object, the ear faculty delights in and clings to the sound object, the nose faculty delights in and clings to the scent object, the tongue faculty delights in and clings to the taste object, the body faculty delights in and clings to the tangible object, and the manas delights in and clings to the dharma object. Each of the faculties greedily clings to its corresponding object\: the eye faculty can only face forms and cannot contact sounds; the ear faculty can only contact sounds and cannot contact tangible sense-objects; ordinary beings' six faculties cannot function interchangeably. When a sage cultivates to a certain degree, the six faculties can interfunction: the eye faculty can contact sounds and smell scents, the ear faculty can contact forms and perceive tastes, the manas can see forms and deliberate—the six faculties interconnect and can substitute for one another. The six faculties are originally interconnected; it is only because of sentient beings' deluded attachment and greedy clinging to sense-object realms that one function has been divided into six functions, and each faculty has acquired its own boundary. When cultivation breaks through the deluded attachment to the six faculties and the mind becomes unobstructed, the six faculties will interconnect and function interchangeably. At that time, even without a material body, one can still feel tangible sense-objects, feeling the gentle breeze and warm sunshine; one faculty can serve the function of six, unifying the functions of the six faculties.

When the six faculties contact the six sense-objects, the mind's feelings have three states: one is liking, one is disliking, and the third is neither liking nor disliking, which is the state of equanimity. For us practitioners of the Path, which state should the mind maintain? For those cultivating the Path, the mind should be peaceful and calm; toward all object realms, neither liking nor disliking, maintaining a state of the Middle Way without abiding anywhere—that is the state of equanimity.