宗鏡錄 72.25

72.25

Answer: We exclude them using the second characteristic: 'possessing an object.' 'Possessing an object' means having the capacity to illuminate and condition objects. Except for citta, caittas, and the consciousnesses of the five material faculties, all other phenomena do not possess objects. Now, although the four elements, the five sense data, the vital faculty, and so forth possess the meaning of determination, they lack the characteristic of possessing an object, and therefore are not bases.