The Nature Of Reality - Verse Thirty Three

Birth and death depend on conditions.
Consciousness is by nature a discriminatory manifestation.
Perceiver and perceived depend on each other
as subject and object of perception.

When conditions are right, we manifest. When conditions are insufficient, we do not manifest. However, we still exist, waiting for the right conditions to manifest.

Manifestation is dependent on conditions. All actions are preceded by volition, the process of making a decision to act. It is a form of energy. Like electricity can animate a fan, volition energy can animate our body. Even when conditions are not right for a body to manifest, volition energy remains. When volition and ignorance are present, store consciousness can manifest body, manas, mind consciousness, sense consciousnesses and their objects. Volition and ignorance are the causes. Store consciousness, the mind, body and sense consciousnesses and contact are the effects.

When the body and mind and the sense consciousnesses arise in the womb, contact is possible. They act as causes resulting in feeling, craving, grasping and the baby's 'coming to be' which in turn cause birth. Birth leads to death.

Subject and object arise simultaneously. Mind consciousness, sense consciousnesses and their objects manifest from the store consciousness. When ignorance and volition energy are present, the store consciousness gives rise to manas. Manas' nature is to discriminate. Manas acts as the controller of the mind and sense consciousnesses. Thus our untrained mind perceives the object as separate from the subject.

While our mind and sense consciousnesses perceive the objects and subject (self) as separate from each other due to the functioning of manas under the influence of ignorance, in reality the subject and object are interdependent.

(Based on the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh.)

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