Returning perception to Mind
Ananda, a moment ago you said that you saw my shining fist; tell me, how did its brightness come about, what caused it to take the form of a fist and with what did you see it?
Ananda replied: The Buddha golden hued body is like a precious hill and manifests (the state of) purity and cleanness, so that the fist shone. It was really my eyes that saw Him bend the fingers and form a fist which was shown to all of us.
The Buddha said: In truth wise people should be awakened by examples and analogies. Ananda, if I had no hand I would have no fist and if you had no eyes, you would have no (faculty of) seeing. Is there any connection between your organ of sight and my fist?
Ananda replied: Ues, World Honoured One. If I had no eyes, I would have no (faculty of) seeing; so there is an analogy between my organ of sight and the Buddha fist.
The Buddha said: Your reasoning is incorrect. For instance, a handless man has no fist, but a man without eyes still has his (faculty of) seeing. When you meet a blind man and ask him what he sees, he will tell you there is nothing but darkness in front of him. Therefore, though things may be screened from view the (faculty of) seeing continues.
Ananda said: If a blind man sees nothing but darkness before him, how can this be called seeing?
The Buddha asked: Is there any difference between the darkness seen by a blind man in front of him and that seen by a man who is not blind when he is in a dark room?
(Ananda replied): World Honoured One, there is no difference. The Buddha said: Ananda, when a blind man who used to see only darkness suddenly recovers his sight and sees every thing clearly, if you say that it is his eyes which see, then when a man who saw darkness in a dark room suddenly lights a lamp which enables him to see what is there, you should say that it is the lamp that sees. If a lamp can see things, it should have (the faculty of) seeing and should not be called a lamp; if it really sees, it has no relation to you. Therefore, you should know that while the lamp can reveal form, seeing comes from the eyes but not from the lamp. Likewise, while your eyes can reveal form, the nature of seeing comes from the mind but not from the eyes :)