–Volume 3(Part3)
Author: Fafu
Translator : Lotus
Dear Dharma friends！
Hello everyone. Welcome to this episode of the podcast contributed by the Buddhas’ Practice Incorporated of Australia.
Today, we delve deeply into how the Buddha analyzes the illusory nature of the “twelve places” (the six sense faculties and their six objects), using the examples of the eye and form, the ear and sound, and the nose and smell.
1.The Nature of the Twelve Places: Illusory Manifestations Arising from Karma
The Buddha teaches that the twelve places (the eye faculty and visual forms, the ear faculty and sounds, the nose faculty and smells, etc.) arise from the interaction of the six sense faculties and their six objects. They are illusory manifestations arising from karma, without any relationship of one producing the other. These phenomena are like a dream—though they appear based on the wondrous, luminous true mind, they are not the true mind itself. Apart from their objects, they have no substance and are merely illusory appearances. Their essence is the “original Tathagatagarbha, the wondrous true nature,” pure and unchanging, neither arising from causes and conditions nor from spontaneity. Below, the Buddha uses the examples of the eye and form, the ear and sound, and the nose and smell to systematically dismantle their illusory nature, guiding us to distinguish the true from the false.
2. The Illusion of the Eye and Form
The Buddha uses examples such as the Jetavana grove, ponds, and other phenomena, asking Ananda, “Are these phenomena of form produced by the eye’s seeing, or does the eye faculty produce the appearance of form?”
Refuting that forms produce the eye’s seeing: If forms produce the eye’s seeing, when looking at empty space, the eye’s seeing should disappear. If there were no seeing, who would know empty space or forms? This is equally unreasonable.
Conclusion: The seeing of the eye and the forms or empty space have no fixed location. Believing they have a fixed location is the “view of permanence,” while believing they are entirely nonexistent is the “view of annihilation.” The Buddha’s teaching transcends both extremes of permanence and annihilation. The seeing of the eye and the appearance of forms are both illusory, and their essence is the “original Tathagatagarbha, the wondrous true nature,” neither arising from causes and conditions nor from spontaneity. (It is neither that objects must exist for seeing to occur, nor that seeing must produce objects; both are illusory manifestations arising from karma, without one producing the other.)
3. The Illusion of the Ear and Sound
The Buddha uses examples such as the drum sounding for meals or the bell ringing to gather the assembly in the Jetavana grove, where sounds occur in succession. He asks Ānanda, “Do these sounds come to the ear, or does the ear go to the place of the sound?”
Refuting that sounds come to the ear: If sounds come to the ear, when the Buddha begs for food in Sravanti, there should be no Buddha in the Jetavana grove. If the sound only comes to Ananda’s ear, then the 1,250 monks, including Maudgalyayana and Kasyapa, should not hear the bell and thus not come to eat. Yet in reality, everyone hears it, proving that sounds do not solely come to the ear.
Refuting that the ear goes to the sound: If the ear goes to the place of the sound, when the Buddha resides in the Jetavana grove, there should be no Buddha in Sravanti. When hearing the drum, if the ear has gone to the drum, it should not hear the bell when it rings, nor should it hear the sounds of elephants, horses, cows, or sheep. Yet in reality, all these sounds are heard, proving the ear does not go to the sound’s location. If there is no coming or going between sound and ear, there would be no hearing.
Conclusion: The hearing of the ear and sounds have no fixed location; they are illusory. Their essence is the “original Tathagatagarbha, the wondrous true nature,” neither arising from causes and conditions nor from spontaneity. (The nature of hearing is inherently pervasive.)
4. The Illusion of the Nose and Smell
The Buddha uses the example of burning sandalwood incense in a censer, where a small amount of incense causes the scent to be smelled throughout Sravanti, a distance of forty li. He asks Ānanda, “Does this smell arise from the sandalwood, the nose, or empty space?”
Refuting that the smell arises from the nose: If the smell arises from the nose, the nose is not sandalwood, so how could it produce the scent of sandalwood? If the nose both produces and smells the scent, this is logically contradictory.
Refuting that the smell arises from empty space: If the smell arises from empty space, which is constant and unchanging, the smell should always be present. Why would burning wood be necessary to produce the smell?
Refuting that the smell arises from the wood: If the smell arises from the wood, the scent is produced as smoke due to heat. What is smelled is the smoky vapor. But if the smoke does not reach forty li, how can the scent be smelled throughout that distance?
Conclusion: The smell and the act of smelling have no fixed location; they are illusory. Their essence is the “original Tathagatagarbha, the wondrous true nature,” neither arising from causes and conditions nor from spontaneity.
5. Conclusion: The Twelve Places Are All Illusory, Rooted in the Tathagatagarbha Through the analysis of the eye and form, ear and sound, and nose and smell, the Buddha reveals the illusory nature of the twelve places:
No fixed location: The seeing of the eye and forms, the hearing of the ear and sounds, and the smelling of the nose and scents have no fixed location. Apart from their objects, they have no substance and are merely illusory manifestations arising from karma.
Breaking deluded views: The notions that “objects must exist for perception to occur” or “perception must produce objects” are refuted as views of permanence or annihilation. These phenomena have no causal relationship of one producing the other; they are purely illusory appearances arising from the true nature.
The True Nature: Though the twelve places are illusory, their essence is the “original Tathagatagarbha, the wondrous true nature,” which is unborn, undying, neither arising from causes and conditions nor from spontaneity. The twelve places are like scenes in a dream—though they appear based on the wondrous, luminous true mind, they are like images on a screen, not truly existent.
