The Blessed Buddha once explained mentality-materiality like this: So, bhikkhus, for the fool, who is blinded by ignorance and obsessed by craving, there re-arises this body. Now this body with its 6 senses sources makes a duality: name-&-form or mentality-&-materiality... Due to this duality there is contact. Touched & stirred by contact the fool feels pleasure & pain. Bhikkhus, craving increases in any one who dwells seeing enjoyment in things productive of pleasure! With craving as condition, there is clinging. Clinging is the condition causing becoming. By becoming is there birth. Thus re-arises a new body also with 6 senses. With birth as condition the cycle of ageing, sickness and death, sorrow, lamentation and despair is thus renewed once again. Such is therefore the origin of this entire mass of suffering.... (SN II 23-4, 84)
Comments: Name-and-Form is a duality of two joined phenomena travelling trough time together, just like 2 persons, who is travelling in the same boat: Name or mind can be likened to a man with good eyes, but without legs... Mind can understand everything, but not itself move even a grain of sand! Form or body materiality can be likened to a blind man with strong legs. Matter and Body cannot see or understand anything, but can lift a stone... Name-and-form, mind-and-matter, mentality-materiality joined together becomes very effective, just like if the seeing yet crippled man rides on the shoulders of the blind man directing him about: Go this way and stop... Mind is like the ghost in the bottle: Imprisoned, unconnected & powerless... Matter is like a robot with the power turned off: Blind, dumb and frozen... Mind joined with matter however comes to life! Now both seeing and moving!
