Exploring the six sense thru Subject and Object

Get into six groups and pick a sense.

Two words we need to look at are subject and object:-

Subject in the penguin dictionary is “the experiencing self, the ego” – 
Object in the penguin dictionary is “that which can be seen or touched…that to which one’s feelings or attention is guided towards”

So right now in this moment. Most of you will be looking at me – I am the object and you are the subject. 
In simple language 
I (me) and you - you and I (me) 
I am the subject for you and you are the object for me 
When your are looking at me 
I am the object and your are the subject.

Or if we all look at the shrine, the shrine is the object and the subject is each of us looking at.
Does everybody understand what I am saying….

You could also say 
I AM IN HERE AND YOU ARE OUT THERE

So this exercise is about reflecting or contemplating (having a sense of wonder) about the senses and how they work in terms of the dhamma – the way things are. 

The Buddhist framework for the senses

So lets play around -And see what we come up with…

Describe what happens in the sense you have chosen when the sense organ makes contact with the objects of the shrine. For example you could use (this was done in the shrine room)

Bell - hearing
Buddha rupa  - touch
flowers  - smell
Water of flowers - taste
Candles - seeing
Incenses - smell
Sand/rice - touch

So we can go round each group and you can recount your experience of sensing an object through your sense.
(after the go around)

Explanation
So what we have is :-

Actually no group should be able to describe there sensing, when you smell something – you can only describe with the help of the mind, and so with the other five

Object-> sense–organ->sense consciousness->recognising

Thinking mind cognise or re-cognise- which is helped by memory.

(The thinking group should be in silence- as all other senses are not used -you are dealing with memories only)

Do the senses work independently?
For example your tongue –taste something and it can not tell you nose about the taste. 

Can you read and listen to music at the same time? 
(Can you taste the roof of your mouth with your tongue, breath in through your nose at the same time tell me what your tasting and what your smelling. )

So each sense in Buddhism has its own consciousness – its own ability to detect that senses. 

So in terms of Buddhism there is a sense object, a sense organ, and a Consciousness and these are independent of one another. For example, the visual consciousness only arises with a object that comes in thru the eye (sense organ) and only if there is an object for that sense.

So lets all try to be really quiet for 30 seconds- just so you can hear a pin drop.
So even though there is not much noise – you can still hear!

You can still smell (sense organ) is there -  even when there is no smells around? 

how is that?

So what we’ve been discussing about is subject and object.
How each sense object has a sense organ (physical) and a sense consciousness ( away of understanding about the information it gets from the sense).

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