As for the six consciousnesses of sentient
beings—the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mental consciousnesses—they
actually operate at the corresponding five internal sense faculties within the
brain. The six sense objects (forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, and
mental phenomena), which are respectively discriminated by the six
consciousnesses, are, in fact, merely the manifestations of the eighth vijñāna,
the tathāgatagarbha, according to the differently perceived five
external sense objects. The six knowing consciousnesses do not actually make
direct contact with external objects.
King of the Honored Multitude Bodhisattva,
through his wisdom of the ultimate truth pertaining to Mahāyāna Buddha Bodhi,
had long since fully realized and verified these teachings of the Śrāvaka
conventional truth that the World-Honored One had explicitly expounded on in
the Lesser Vehicle. He recognized that what held the woman’s hand and sat
together with her was merely the great earth element, not the perceptive
conscious “self,” and thus, there was no transgression.
Therefore, the World-Honored One finally
taught, “Ordinary sentient beings, due to their craving for the five worldly
desires, commit various unwholesome karmas and consequently fall into the three
evil destinies or even the hells, where they suffer severe karmic retribution.
However, when bodhisattvas engage in the five worldly desires together with
sentient beings to liberate them, employing various skillful means, their minds
remain pure and free from desire. After death, they are instead reborn as pure beings
in the form realm heavens. Why is there such a great difference? This is
because Bodhisattva-Mahāsattvas are able to practice skillful means.”
Having heard this story, everyone should
now have a clearer understanding of the true meaning of bodhisattvas’ skillful
means. (Part 4)
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