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2. 23-25]
The masters of the senses are the body beings, the light beings, the air beings, the five stationary beings, and the four two-sensed beings. Among these, up to the air beings, only one sense of touch exists. Worms, leeches, and such have two senses—touch and taste. Ants, lice, and bedbugs have three senses—touch, taste, and smell. Bees, flies, scorpions, mosquitoes, etc., have four senses—touch, taste, life (vitality), and vision. Humans, animals, birds, as well as gods and hell beings, possess five senses—touch, taste, smell, vision, and hearing.
Question: Is this number referring to the physical senses, the mental senses, or both?
Answer: The aforementioned number strictly refers to the physical senses; even if certain beings possess fewer physical senses, all beings will have all five mental senses.
Question: So do beings like worms, etc., see or hear due to their mental senses?
Answer: No, the mere presence of mental senses does not empower them to act, as they need the support of physical senses. Therefore, even though they possess mental senses, worms and ants, lacking physical eyes and ears, are incapable of seeing or hearing. Nevertheless, these beings manage their life journeys owing to the adeptness of their physical senses.
From earth beings to the four-sensed beings, there are eight kinds that do not have a mind; even among the five-sensed beings, not all possess a mind. The five-sensed beings are categorized into four groups: gods, hell beings, humans, and those with the form of living beings. Among the first two groups, all have a mind, while in the latter two groups, only those born from the womb have a mind. Humans and creature forms are of two kinds: those borne from the womb and those not. The non-womb-born humans and creatures do not have a mind. In summary, among the five-sensed beings, only all gods, all hell beings, womb-born humans, and womb-born creatures possess a mind.
Question: How can one identify which beings have a mind and which do not?
Answer: The identification is based on the presence or absence of consciousness.
Question: The term 'consciousness' refers to a function. To some extent, a certain form of function exists in all beings, as worms, ants, etc., also exhibit functions related to eating, fear, etc. Why are these beings not considered to have a mind?
Answer: Here, 'consciousness' means not an ordinary function but a specific one. For clarification, see the supplement for the term 'consciousness' on page 38 of the Hindi fourth text on karma.