Issue 274

Ananda said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, it is as the Buddha has said, since I cannot see the inside, my mind does not reside inside the body. Since my body and mind have a common awareness, they are not separate and so my mind does not dwell outside my body. As I now ponder on it, I know it is in a certain place.”

Ananda pondered again. It is because he keeps pondering that he is mistaken! From the start, he has been stuck in constant state of pondering; and even still, he continues to ponder.

Ananda said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, It is as the Buddha has said.” Ananda says, “I followed the Buddha to leave the home-life and I listen to the Buddha’s teaching, including the doctrine the Buddha has just spoken, those proclamations of the Dharma-sound.”

Since I cannot see the inside, my mind does not reside inside the body. If the mind were inside the body, I would be able to see my heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, the five viscera and the six internal organs.

Since my body and mind have a common awareness, they are not separate and so my mind does not dwell outside my body. The Buddha now says it is not outside.

As I ponder on it, I know it is in a certain place. Now, I have another thought. Outside is not correct, inside is not correct, therefore, it has to be in a certain place.

The Buddha said, “Now where is it?”
Ananda said, “Since the mind, which knows and understands, does not perceive what is inside but can see outside upon reflection, I believe it is concealed in the organ of vision. For example, when someone places crystal bowls over his eyes, the bowls cover his eyes but do not obstruct his vision. The organ of vision is thus able to see and discriminations are made. Therefore, my mind, which knows, understands, and is aware, does not see within because it resides in the organ. It can gaze outside clearly, without obstruction, for the same reason: it is concealed in the organ.”

The Buddha said, “Now where is it? Ah, you say it is in a certain place. What place? Where is your mind? Hurry up and tell me!”That is how the Buddha questioned Ananda.

Ananda said, “Since the mind which knows and understands does not perceive what is inside but can see outside”. Ananda said, “Since the mind that I can distinguish and understand can’t see my heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys, this proves that it’s not inside. However, I can see outside.

Upon reflection, I believe it is concealed in the organ of vision. “Earlier, he said, “As I now ponder…,” and here again, he says, “Upon reflection…” Pondering or reflecting, he is using his conscious mind, which is subject to production and extinction. In his reflection, the mind is concealed in the organ of vision. The organ of vision refers to the eye. It is hidden away there, Ananda says. The mind is stashed there where no one could see it. That is what is meant by “concealed.”

Grace said she did not understand the Sutra. To say nothing of you not understanding, Ananda himself did not understand! You have to listen to the entire Sutra and then you will come to understand. Otherwise, how could you understand? Why are you listening to the sutra now? It is because you do not understand the sutra and you are prompted to listen. You should not say, “Oh, I don’t understand what is being said so I’ll stop listening!” It’s because you don’t understand that you should listen!
Ananda said the mind is concealed in the organ of vision. Next, he gave an analogy to explain his new perspective. For example, when someone places crystal bowls over his eyes, the bowls cover his eyes but do not obstruct his vision. This is just a hypothetical person. The so-called ‘crystal bowls’ at that time is our present-day eye glasses. Ananda hypothesized someone who puts on eyeglasses over the eyes. The eyes and the eyeglasses mutually integrated, mutually non-obstructive, leaving no impression. The organ of vision is thus able to see, and discriminations arise subsequently. Fitted with eyeglasses, the eyes perceive objects of vision and made discriminations accordingly. In Ananda’s contention, this is similar to the mind hidden in the eyes. Once the eyes perceive an object of vision, the mind knows it, and the process of discrimination starts.

“I think, “Ananda says, “The principle I expressed this time is certainly correct.” He still regards himself to be very intelligent. “Ah, look at how intelligent I am! I am definitely able to answer what the Buddha asked me!” Why does Ananda keep making mistakes? It is because he keeps using the mind that is subject to production and extinction. No matter what the circumstance is, he always uses his thought-process to ponder on it from each angle. On the previous passage of this sutra, he already had three or four ponderations. His ponderations are grounded in the thoughts of his consciousness, and he regards the consciousness to be the true mind.

He did not know that “the true mind neither exists nor does not exist”. He did not know that “the true mind is the nature”. At that time, Ananda did not understand this principle. He is like one who gets off on the wrong road, and the further he goes, the more he was lost. He encountered many forked roads, and each time he thought he picked the right path. As a result, the further he went, the more he’s lost. That is the reason he now used this analogy and requested the Buddha to draw a conclusion.

And so refers to the principle Ananda was just explaining. My mind, which knows, understands, and is aware, does not see within because it resides in the organ. Since my mind is in my faculty of vision, I cannot see what is inside. It can gaze outside clearly, without obstruction, because it is concealed in the faculty. Why can I clearly see outside but not inside? It is because my mind, also refers to vision, is concealed in the eyes. Hence, I can see outside clearly, with no obstruction, but I cannot see inside. This is why I said the ‘mind’ and the ‘vision’ are hidden in the faculty of vision. We will know whether this is right or not in the next passage.

The Buddha said to Ananda, “Assuming that it is concealed in the organ, as you assert in your analogy of the crystal bowls: if someone were to cover his eyes with the crystal bowls and look at the mountains and rivers, would he see the crystal bowls as well?”
“Yes, World Honored One, if a person were to cover his eyes with the crystals, he would in fact see the crystals.”
The Buddha said to Ananda, “If your mind is analogous to the eyes covered with crystal bowls, then when you see the mountains and rivers, why don’t you see your eyes?

Having heard Ananda use the analogy of the crystals, the Buddha said to Ananda, “Assuming that it is concealed in the organ, as you assert in your analogy of the crystal bowls: Suppose it is the way as you explain it,” the Buddha says, “and the mind is concealed in the organ. If someone were to cover his eyes with the crystal bowls and look at the mountains and rivers, would he see the crystal bowls as well? When the person in your analogy puts on his glasses and he can see the mountains, the rivers, and the great earth, can he see his glasses?”

“Yes, World Honored One, if a person were to cover his eyes with the crystal bowls, he would in fact see the crystal bowls. “When someone wears glasses, he sees the mountains, rivers, the great earth, and the glasses too.

The Buddha said to Ananda, “If your mind is analogous to the eyes covered with the crystal bowls, then when you see the mountains and rivers, why don’t you see your eyes? “You brought on the glasses in your analogy, saying that your mind is hidden in your organ of vision, like being covered with the crystal bowls. Since your eyes can see the mountains, rivers, and the great earth, and the crystal bowls, then why can’t you see your own eyes now?
The Buddha asks Ananda, “When you wear eyeglasses, you can see the mountains, rivers and the great earth, and the eyeglasses. Since you said that your mind is inside the faculty of vision, then your eyes would be the crystal bowls in your analogy. Since your mind can see the mountains, rivers and the great earth, why can it not see how your own eyes look like?

Someone will say, “I see my eyes.”That is, by looking in the mirror. Without the mirror, can you see your own eyes by simply turning your light back to reflect upon yourself? This principle cannot gain a foothold. The flesh eyes of ordinary people cannot see themselves, and this applies to Ananda too. Although Ananda had attained the first stage of Arhatship, his flesh eyes could not look into his own eyes either.

If you could see your eyes, your eyes would be part of the external environment. If you cannot see them, why did you say that the mind, which understands, knows, and is aware, is concealed in the organ of vision just like the eyes covered by crystal bowls?

It is aforementioned that Ananda could not see his eyes. However, concerned that Ananda would become so confused that he would contend he could see his own eyes, the Buddha pointed out to him, “If you could see your eyes, your eyes would be part of the external environment, your eyes would be outside of you and not part of your body. Moreover, you cannot say that discriminations arise subsequentially. Hence this is not right, this is wrong again!”

If you cannot see them, why did you say that the mind, which understands, knows, and is aware, is concealed in the organ of vision just like the eyes covered by crystal bowls? If you cannot see your eyes, then how can you contend that your mind is hidden in your organ of vision the way eyes are covered by glasses? You said that when you wear eyeglasses, you could see the mountains, rivers and the great earth, as well as the eyeglasses. Since your mind can see the mountains, rivers and the great earth, why can it not see your own eyes? Therefore, your analogy of the crystal bowls does not hold up. It is also incorrect!