Surangama Sutra Exposition
by Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Grandmaster Sheng-Yen Lu
When the eyes see, the ears hear, or the nose smells, corresponding consciousness arises. Yet all these processes have no clear boundaries nor any inherent nature; they are neither spontaneous nor born through causes and conditions.
“Ananda, you also understand that the mind and mental objects work together to create what we call mental awareness or consciousness. Does this consciousness come from the mind itself, or does it come from mental objects?
“Ananda, if it arises from the mind, then your mind would need a specific thought to activate it. But if no thought is present, the mind generates nothing. It has no form with these causes and conditions, so what use is consciousness?
“Now consider your mental consciousness and all that it produces and discerns—are they the same or different? If they are the same as the mind, then it simply is your mind itself; how could we say they are ‘produced’ by the mind?
“If they are different from the mind, then there would be no consciousness at all. But if there is no awareness, how could it be called mental consciousness?
“And if there is awareness, then what is mental awareness? Whether they are the same or different, neither can be established, and thus their sense-fields cannot be established either.
“If mental consciousness arises from mental objects, remember that all mental objects are ultimately tied to the five sensory objects—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. These are perceived by the five sense faculties, not directly by the mind itself. If you believe consciousness truly arises from these mental objects, look closely: what is the actual nature of these objects?
“If you remove form and emptiness, motion and stillness, openness and obstruction, union and separation, arising and ceasing, and transcend all these phenomena, you will find that nothing remains. In arising, form and emptiness arise together; in cessation, form and emptiness cease together. Since their causes do not exist, the consciousness that arises also has no form or phenomena. Without phenomena, how could any sense-field be established?
“Thus, know that the mind, mental objects, and mental consciousness—none of these three is ultimately real. They are originally neither dependent-arising nor self-arising.”
The mind (root) and the mental objects (external dusts) together produce mental consciousness. This consciousness does not arise from the mind alone, as the mind requires the dusts to generate it. Nor does it originate solely from the dusts. Ultimately, these three—the mind, the mental objects, and the mental consciousness that form the three mind sense-fields—are empty and devoid of any inherent nature.
What is the mind? The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body together form the root of the mind. The external dusts—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch—generate mental consciousness. Yet, one cannot locate where consciousness resides in the body. Modern science suggests it may originate from a specific part of the brain, but in truth, consciousness cannot be grasped or located anywhere.
The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body have no self-nature. Likewise, the forms, sounds, smells, taste, and touches they perceive also have no self-nature. Thus, the so-called mental consciousness that is generated is without inherent nature and ultimately empty.
The eighteen sense-fields [comprising the six roots–eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind; six dusts–sight/form, sound, smell, taste, touch, mental objects; and six consciousnesses] all lack self-nature. They are neither depending-arising nor self-arising. As stated in the Heart Sutra:
“No eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, nor mind; no forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, nor mental objects; nor is there the realm of the eyes, up to and including the realm of mind consciousness.”
The “realm of mind consciousness” refers to this very teaching—that ultimately there is no realm of mental consciousness.
The main point Sakyamuni Buddha teaches is that none of these phenomena have boundaries or bases. When thoughts arise, what boundaries are there? From where do they come? No one can truly say.
It is because the eyes see forms, the ears hear sounds, the nose smells scents, [the tongue tastes, and the body touches] that mental consciousness arises. In other words, consciousness arises through the interaction of the roots (eyes, ears, nose, body, mind) and their external objects (the dusts). Yet all of these inherently have no bases—you cannot define how short or long consciousness is.
In truth, all compounded phenomena—whether the six roots, six dusts, six consciousnesses, or even the six elements of earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness—are fundamentally non-existent, without self-nature.