妙法蓮華經玄贊 1.49

1.49

Third, "I" has the meaning of personal intimacy; worldly people commonly say "I saw, I heard" to indicate personal witnessing. If he had said "Ānanda heard," it might mean he did not hear it personally but received it from another through transmission. Here, to reveal that he personally heard what the Bhagavat spoke, that it was not hearsay, and to break through others' web of doubts, he does not state his name but simply says "I have heard." "Heard" means the ear faculty giving rise to consciousness to listen to and receive what was spoken. Now, setting aside the specific ear faculty and adopting the general designation of the self, it is therefore said "I have heard." Although according to the Mahāyāna it is only the confluence of faculty, consciousness, and mental factors directed at an object that is termed "hearing," nevertheless, the faculty surpasses the consciousness and the like in five meanings; therefore the faculty is called "hearing." The five meanings of the faculty are the so-called: support, generating, belonging, assisting, and conforming to the faculty. "Conforming to the faculty" means that just as the faculty is sharp or dull, consciousness is also sharp or dull. If it were merely hearing sounds, it could reside solely in the ear; but since it takes names and meanings as objects, it resides in the mind. Therefore the Yogācārabhūmi states: "Hearing refers to inference." The ear faculty being called "hearing" is because it personally hears sounds, serving as a portal for the mind, and only then does the mind hear; taking both as portals, the perfuming resides in the whole, and what is accomplished due to hearing is collectively called "hearing." Setting aside the distinct ear and mind, it is collectively called "I have heard."