The Great Buddha's Crown Tathagata Secret Cause Cultivation and Realization of Ultimate Meaning All Bodhisattvas' Myriad Practices Śū
Lecture Notes by Ming Chai Zi, Shi Cheng Shi
Disciple Wang Yiyuan of Xin'an, Collated and Printed
Furthermore, Ananda, why are the six sense faculties ultimately neither caused by conditions nor self-existent in nature?
This insight points directly to the subtle root of perception. If it were pointing to the coarse sensory organs, then it wouldn't be a root emerging from the root itself, and there would be no clear basis for it. Moreover, the coarse sensory organs are already included within the illusory body, and what is said to be "within" refers to being within these coarse organs. If one claims that what lies between the sensory organs and their objects is called consciousness, not the root itself, then this insight is also different from the previous insight. The previous one belonged to the perceiving aspect, while this one belongs to the perceived aspect. If one fixates on the nature of perception, it must belong to the perceiving aspect and is called visual consciousness, not the eye faculty. This is precisely where the unwise struggle to distinguish between consciousness and the sensory faculties. If one argues that earlier it was acknowledged that the subtle perception has an independent existence apart from its objects, but now it is said to have no such independent existence, this might seem contradictory. However, it is important to understand that earlier, when referring to the perceiving aspect, it had not yet mixed with forms and was still close to the true nature. Here, it specifically points to the pure form of the perceived aspect. Moreover, earlier it was compared to the second moon, and it was also said that when seeing sees itself, the seeing is not the seen. This clearly shows that even though it is said to have an independent existence, it is still using the subtle perception to point to the true nature, not simply claiming that the subtle perception exists independently of its objects. This must be deeply contemplated and not taken lightly.