The Truth - Summary
Now let's summarize: consciousness does not have the ability to perceive, nor does anything else possess the ability to perceive. The content of knowledge is also not the objects themselves. Whether it is consciousness or the content of knowledge, they are merely new phenomena produced by the interaction between the senses and objects.
Just like how wood burning forms flames in the air, although flames are produced by the wood, they do not exist in the wood before burning, and after burning, the flames are not stored anywhere. During the burning process, flames appear in various shapes and colors, which are different from the appearance of the wood itself. They are just a new phenomenon created by many conditions coming together. Any of these conditions can influence the shape and color of the flames, but the flames do not reflect the appearance of any of these conditions and are completely independent, a new phenomenon.
Our consciousness possesses these characteristics. Although consciousness is produced by the senses and objects, it does not exist before its production and is not stored anywhere after it disappears. At the moment of its production, consciousness and its content do not reflect any other objects, it is just consciousness itself, independent and new.
So, rather than saying it is our senses or consciousness that perceive things, it is more accurate to say that the senses and objects together create a completely new world of consciousness, and this consciousness world is all that we know. This includes everything we see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and think, including the senses and objects mentioned in this article.
However, this does not mean that the world is idealistic. Just like when watching a movie in a theater, we only see the light reflected by the movie screen, but we cannot say that the movie is just a beam of light. Likewise, although we only know consciousness, it does not mean that the entire world is just consciousness.
In fact, the senses, objects, and consciousness are interdependent. If any one of them disappears, the other two cannot stand. It's like light, heat, and flames; or like a tripod made of three sticks tied together.
All of this is produced by various conditions, interacting with each other, constantly giving rise to new things. This is what the ancient enlightened ones truly referred to as "all phenomena arise from conditions."
The so-called "arising from conditions" does not mean that placing two sticks together becomes chopsticks, or that wood and boards make a table, as these are just combinations and do not create new things. The true "arising from conditions" refers to the emergence of new phenomena, like wood and oxygen burning to produce flames; drumsticks striking the drumhead to create sound waves; eyes and light contact to produce vision, and so on.
In the scientific community, it is generally believed that material in the universe is independent, and the consciousness of life is also independent. The material world existed before life appeared. In accidental circumstances, matter formed life, and life evolved to form consciousness. If one day a major disaster occurs in the material world, life may completely disappear, and the universe will return to a state of only material.
But if someone understands what I have said before, they will realize that the world we know is actually produced by the combination of material and senses. If either the material or the senses disappear, the corresponding world also disappears. It's like the shadow left on the ground when sunlight shines on a big tree; if the sunlight or the tree disappears, the shadow also disappears. This is what the ancient enlightened ones referred to as "all phenomena cease due to conditions."
These are part of the underlying mechanisms of the world. When there are eyes and light, there is vision. When vision arises, corresponding feelings, thoughts, cognition, etc., arise. When there are no eyes and light, there is no vision, and corresponding feelings, thoughts, cognition, etc., do not arise.
The same applies to other consciousness. When there are senses and objects, there is consciousness. When consciousness arises, corresponding feelings, thoughts, cognition, etc., arise. When there are no senses and objects, there is no consciousness, and corresponding feelings, thoughts, cognition, etc., do not arise.
When people truly understand that consciousness arises from the interaction of senses and objects, they will not consider the world as illusory. When they understand that if the senses or objects disappear, consciousness also disappears, they will not consider the world as real.
By not falling into the one-sided thinking of whether the world exists or not, is illusory or real, but observing and thinking from the perspective of "when this arises, that arises; when this disappears, that disappears," one can eliminate doubts, further discover the complete truth of this world, increase genuine wisdom, remove ignorance, and walk the path of liberation correctly.