The Five Sense Consciousnesses and the Mind Consciousness Jointly Discern Complete Material Form

Answer: Form subsumed under the Dharmāyatana is precisely the mental sense-object; it is a mental sense-object that is further manifested once again on the basis of the inner five sense-objects. It is also composed of particles of the four great elements and belongs to material form (rūpa). Combined with the five sense-objects, it constitutes the complete form, sound, smell, taste, and touch. The five sense-objects are only a small portion of the content of form, sound, smell, taste, and touch; they are not the complete five sense-object forms. The mental sense-object constitutes the greater portion of the content of form, sound, smell, taste, and touch; only when combined together do they form complete material form. For example: only when the form sense-object and the mental sense-object upon that form sense-object are combined together is there the complete inner form sense-object; only when the sound sense-object and the mental sense-object upon that sound sense-object are combined together is there the complete sound sense-object. The five sense-objects and the mental sense-object stand in a parallel, coordinate relationship, mutually dependent; the mental sense-object arises and exists in dependence on the five sense-objects. The inner five sense-objects are discerned by the five sense-consciousnesses, while the mental sense-object is discerned by the mind consciousness. From this it can be seen that the five sense-consciousnesses alone cannot discern form, sound, smell, taste, and touch, and the mind consciousness alone also cannot discern form, sound, smell, taste, and touch; only when the five sense-consciousnesses and the mind consciousness are combined together can the complete form, sound, smell, taste, and touch be discerned.