Is the Mind in the Middle?
Ananda said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One, I also have heard that while discussing with Manjushri and others about Reality, the Buddha said that the mind is neither inside nor outside the body. My understanding is, since the mind can’t see anything inside, certainly it is not inside the body; and since its awareness is not separate from the body, certainly it is not outside the body either. So, I guess the mind is in the middle.”
The Buddha replied, “A middle must be in some specific place. Where is this ‘middle’ you are talking about? Is it at the surface of the body or within it? If it’s at the surface, it would not be in the middle; if it’s within, it would be inside the body. Does this ‘middle’ have a location? If there was no indication of its location, the ‘middle’ would mean nothing. Even if there was an indication of its location, that location would be indefinite. Now suppose someone were to place a marker to indicate the location of a middle. Seen from the east, it would be in the west; seen from the south, it would be in the north. Such a marker would not mark a definite middle, and a mind in an indefinite ‘middle’ can only be a confused mind.”
Ananda said, “The middle I am talking about is in none of those places. As the Buddha has said, that for eye-consciousness to occur, the eyes and visible objects are necessary conditions. The eyes register visual distinctions, while the objects seen by the eyes have no perception, but an eye-consciousness is created between them, and that is where the mind is.”
The Buddha said, “If your mind were located between the eye-faculty and the objects it perceives, would the nature of this mind join with the nature of eye-faculty, as well as the nature of perceived objects? If they’re joined together, it would be a confused state about what is aware and what is not aware. If they’re not joined together, the mind would be neither the perceiver nor the perceived. Such a mind would have no essential nature at all. How could it be in the middle then? Therefore, when you say the mind is in the middle, you’re stating what is impossible.”
阿难白佛言：世尊！我亦闻佛与文殊等诸法王子，谈实相时，世尊亦言：心不在内，亦不在外。如我思惟：内无所见，外不相知 。内无知故，在内不成；身心相知，在外非义。今相知故，复内无见，当在中间。
佛言：汝言中间，中必不迷，非无所在。今汝推中，中何为在？为复在处？为当在身？若在身者，在边非中，在中同内 。若在处者，为有所表？为无所表？无表同无，表则无定。何以故？如人以表，表为中时，东看则西，南观成北，表体既混，心应杂乱。阿难言：我所说中，非此二种 。如世尊言：眼色为缘，生于眼识。眼有分别，色尘无知，识生其中，则为心在。佛言：汝心若在根尘之中，此之心体，为复兼二 ，为不兼二？若兼二者，物体杂乱，物非体知，成敌两立，云何为中？兼二不成，非知不知，即无体性，中何为相？是故应知，当在中间，无有是处。
Buddha Mind 