宗鏡錄 69.27

69.27

Answer: It means that the eye has seen form in the past and presently sees form, and that the seeds of this are accumulated in the maturation ālayavijñāna: this is the characteristic of the eye element. "The eye has seen form in the past" refers to being able to uphold the meaning of past enjoyment by consciousness, in order to manifest the nature of the element. "Presently sees form" refers to being able to uphold the meaning of present enjoyment by consciousness, in order to manifest the nature of the element. "And that the seeds of this are accumulated in the maturation ālayavijñāna" means that the eye-seeds are either merely accumulated in order to induce the future eye faculty, or have already matured in order to produce the present eye faculty. These two kinds are called the eye element because they are the causes for the arising of the eye. As with the characteristic of the eye element, the characteristics of the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mental elements are also like this.