What Dharma Do the Sense Organs, Body, and Material World Belong To?

The root body and the receptacle world both refer to the material form (rūpa-dharma) transformed by the Tathāgatagarbha using the five great seeds, provided for sentient beings' survival needs. They share common material attributes and are in a constant state of arising, ceasing, and change. Among them, the root body is the individual karma of sentient beings, while the receptacle world is the collective karma of sentient beings. The "root" includes the eye root, ear root, nose root, tongue root, and body root. The "body" refers to the entire physical form, encompassing all five roots. The "receptacle" is the cosmic receptacle world, the Three Realms of existence: the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm. This includes the palaces of various heavenly realms, various mountains, rivers, lands, trees, treasures, as well as various living environments and utensils used for survival. The "world" signifies the boundaries of these various material receptacles: the Desire Realm has boundaries with the Form Realm, and with the Formless Realm; each of the Three Realms has its own distinctions and boundaries.

Because the root body and receptacle world are material form, the five great seeds operate within them. Therefore, they all possess energy; they are all energy fields. Form, sound, scent, taste, and touch all have energy, and their influence on the body and mind of sentient beings is significant. The universe contains various sounds, the so-called "music of the heavens," yet sentient beings do not understand their origin. This is because the universe contains various forms of matter; the movement and collision of matter generate energy waves, thus forming sound. The void in the universe is vast and boundless. Sound drifts through space without obstruction, appearing exceptionally vast, distant, profound, and awe-inspiring. Sentient beings hearing it may feel tranquility and yearn for it, or they may feel fear and terror, seeking to avoid it.

Why does sound appear in the void? This is because the void is not empty; it contains numerous particles. The movement and collision of these particles generate sound. These particles are composed of the five great seeds: earth, water, fire, wind, and space. The vibration of each great seed can release energy; combined, they can generate even more energy. Energy can also transform between them, becoming new forms of energy. Precisely because of this, humans utilize water and wind energy, converting it into electrical energy for power generation, lighting, and meeting production and daily life needs.

Form dust and sound dust are forms of energy. Scent dust is also a form of energy; some scents have an invigorating and refreshing effect, while others have an inhibitory effect on brain nerve cells, causing coma or poisoning. Taste dust is the same, and touch dust even more so. Thus, all six dusts (form, sound, scent, taste, touch, and dharmas) possess energy. The cosmic receptacle world contains these various energies of form, sound, scent, taste, touch, and dharmas.