宗鏡錄 72.11

72.11

Answer: All conditioned dharmas depend on this basis; that is, all conditioned, conditionally arisen dharmas, form and mind alike, must depend on their own seeds as their basis. Because these seeds exist, all manifest activities of form and mind can only then arise; because separated from their own causal condition, they definitely do not arise. The meaning is: if a manifest state of mind is separated from its own mental seeds, it definitely does not arise; form dharmas are also like this. Second, the basis as sovereign condition: the sovereign condition itself is broad, applying generally to existence and non-existence, and distal sovereignty. When serving as a basis it is narrow, taking only what has efficacy and is proximal sovereignty. Because the five physical faculties along with the mental faculty base—only these six internal bases—form the essence of the sovereign basis. This excludes the six external sense fields looking toward mind and mental factors: they are merely sovereign, and cannot be the essence of the basis. Furthermore, it takes only the simultaneous eight consciousness-kings as the mental faculty base, because the mental faculty base can take as conditions the eight consciousnesses. If it is the equal-and-immediate mind, it constitutes a basis of its own, and hence is not taken. Thus this sovereign basis must possess three meanings: first, having efficacy; second, being proximal; third, being internal. The six external sense fields, because they lack these three meanings, are merely conditions and not bases. As for the dharmas that rely on it: all minds and mental factors depend on this basis. Saying 'all minds and mental factors' excludes the last three categories—matter, formations not associated with mind, and the unconditioned—none of which have a sovereign basis.