In Buddhist theory, the concepts of the six sense organs, six sense objects, six consciousnesses, six afflictions, and six realms are all important:
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Six sense organs refer to the six sensory organs of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
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Six sense objects refer to the perceptible objects corresponding to the six sense organs, such as color, sound, smell, taste, touch, and phenomena.
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Six consciousnesses refer to the six cognitive functions that arise from the recognition of the six sense objects by the six sense organs, such as eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, and mind consciousness.
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Six afflictions refer to the six defiled mental states that arise from the attachment to the six sense objects during the operation of the six consciousnesses, such as eye affliction, ear affliction, nose affliction, tongue affliction, body affliction, and mind affliction.
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Six realms refer to the six worlds or domains constituted by the combination of the six sense organs, six sense objects, six consciousnesses, and six afflictions, namely the eye realm, ear realm, nose realm, tongue realm, body realm, and mind realm.
In summary:
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The six sense organs are the six sensory organs.
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The six sense objects are the six perceptible objects corresponding to the six sense organs.
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The six consciousnesses are the six mental functions that arise from the recognition of the six sense objects by the six sense organs.
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The six afflictions are the six defiled mental states that arise from the attachment to the six sense objects during the operation of the six consciousnesses.
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The six realms are the six worlds constituted by the combination of the six sense organs, six sense objects, six consciousnesses, and six afflictions.
These five sets of six represent the cognitive afflictions and attachments of individuals in the mundane body and mind processes. True liberation requires clear observation and transformation of these five sets of six.