The Differential Clinging of Manas to the Internal and External Four Mahābhūtas

The mental faculty of ordinary beings possesses the characteristic of parikalpita-svabhava (discriminative attachment), potentially clinging to all dharmas encountered, though varying in intensity and manner. What the mental faculty clings to most tenaciously is the physical body and the functional roles of the six consciousnesses. This is because these dharmas are vividly present and intimately close to the mental faculty, which cannot be separated from them even for a moment, relying on them to manifest itself. The mental faculty clings to the physical body composed of the internal four elements as "self" or "mine." The physical body exerts the most direct and profound influence on the mental faculty; one could say they are intimately connected. It represents the life characteristics of the mental faculty's "self" and can be directly controlled, hence the mental faculty's deepest attachment is to the physical body.

However, the mental faculty also clings to material forms composed of the external four elements and the receptacle world of the universe, regarding these dharmas as its possessions and believing it can enjoy them. These dharmas are not as intimately connected or inseparable to the mental faculty as the physical body; they are merely necessities for the life of the physical body, difficult to control directly, and thus the relationship with the mental faculty is more distant. The clinging to the external four elements is ultimately for the sake of the internal four elements; the essence remains clinging to the internal four elements. Therefore, the mental faculty's attachment to the external four elements is less intense than its attachment to the physical body. If an individual exhibits severe clinging to material forms, it clearly indicates excessive greed and attachment, making liberation difficult to attain.