A Brief Explanation of the Mahayana Tathagatagarbha Sutra
Chapter Five The Eight Similes of the Tathāgatagarbha
Original text: 复次。善男子。譬如淳蜜。在岩树中。无数群蜂。围绕守护。时有一人。巧智方便。先除彼蜂。乃取其蜜。随意食用。惠及远近。
Explanation: The World-Honored One was very adept at using all kinds of similes to hint that every sentient being has the tathāgatagarbha within his body, enabling sentient beings to believe and accept that they possess the Tathāgata's wisdom and virtuous marks within themselves. Then the World-Honored One expounded the Dharma to sentient beings, revealing the Tathāgata's wisdom and virtuous marks, so that after sentient beings realized them, they would in the future gradually be able to accomplish the unsurpassed Buddha Way.
The Buddha said: Good men, it is like pure honey in a tree or in some spot among rocks, with countless bees guarding that honey. That honey is the bees' entire food and drink, so the countless bees guard the honey as if it were their very lives. Because bees are venomous and can sting and harm people, ordinary people dare not approach to gather the pure honey. But someone with a very clever method can obtain this honey: he devises ways to first remove the bees, then takes the pure honey; unable to finish it all himself, he gives it away to relatives and friends far and near.
Original text: 如是。善男子。一切众生。有如来藏。如彼淳蜜。在于岩树。为诸烦恼。之所覆蔽。亦如彼蜜。群蜂守护。我以佛眼。如实观之。以善方便。随应说法。灭除烦恼。开佛知见。普为世间。施作佛事。
Explanation: Good men, the tathāgatagarbha is also like this. All sentient beings have the tathāgatagarbha, which lies within the afflictions of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha), just as if it were in the rocks and trees. The tathāgatagarbha is like the pure honey, and the afflictions are like the bees: the afflictions cover and obscure the tathāgatagarbha, just as the bees guard the pure honey, and sentient beings, lacking skillful means, cannot realize the tathāgatagarbha. I observe with the Buddha eye that sentient beings truly all have the tathāgatagarbha within their bodies. With various skillful means I expound the sūtras and teach the Dharma to sentient beings, the purpose being to subdue sentient beings' afflictions, remove the obstructions, reveal the Buddha's knowledge and vision to sentient beings, enable them to awaken and enter it, and universally practice generosity (dāna) toward all sentient beings by extensively performing Buddha works.
Because the Buddha's mind is pure and without obstructions, He can not only see His own tathāgatagarbha but also see the tathāgatagarbha of all sentient beings. When the Buddha expounds the Dharma to reveal it to sentient beings and their afflictions are subdued, the tathāgatagarbha becomes revealed. It is not that the tathāgatagarbha manifests by itself; rather, once the afflictions are subdued, the mind becomes pure and settles down—just as when clear water appears, the moon of the tathāgatagarbha floats up upon the clear water. When the water is turbid and unclear, is the moon of the tathāgatagarbha still there? It is still there; it is only that the water is turbid and cannot reflect it. The afflictions are like turbid water covering the field of the mind, so sentient beings cannot discover the tathāgatagarbha within their own bodies.
When the aware and knowing mind is laden with layers upon layers of afflictions and lacks skillful means, it cannot discover the treasure within the body. Once the water of the aware and knowing mind settles and becomes pure, and the afflictions have been subdued, one can then reflect and behold the moon of the tathāgatagarbha, discover the tathāgatagarbha, and awaken to the tathāgatagarbha; thus one opens the Buddha's knowledge and vision and awakens to the Buddha's knowledge and vision. The Buddha's expounding of the Dharma in the world has precisely this purpose: to extinguish sentient beings' afflictions and enable them to open the Buddha's knowledge and vision, display the Buddha's knowledge and vision, awaken to the Buddha's knowledge and vision, and enter the Buddha's knowledge and vision, thereby accomplishing the Buddha Way. Therefore, when the Buddha universally performs Buddha works for the world, these Buddha works refer to expounding the sūtras and teaching the Dharma to sentient beings, extinguishing afflictions, and revealing the Dharma of the tathāgatagarbha. They do not refer to today's Buddha works (consecration, bestowing blessings, deliverance of the deceased, etc.). In truth, the real Buddha work is expounding the sūtras and teaching the Dharma, revealing sentient beings' store of the Tathāgata.
Original text: 尔时世尊以偈颂曰。
譬如岩树蜜 无量蜂围绕 巧方便取者 先除彼群蜂
众生如来藏 犹如岩树蜜 结使尘劳缠 如群蜂守护
我为诸众生 方便说正法 灭除烦恼蜂 开发如来藏
具足无碍辩 演说甘露法 普令成正觉 大悲济群生
Explanation: After this simile was finished, the World-Honored One spoke a verse to sum it up:
譬如岩树蜜。无量蜂围绕。巧方便取者。先除彼群蜂。 It is like the honey in the rocks and trees, surrounded and guarded by countless bees. In order to obtain the honey, a person endowed with skillful means must first remove those guarding bees, for the bees' guarding covers and obstructs the honey so that others cannot come near to take the honey and eat it. The bees are a metaphor for sentient beings' afflictions, and the honey is a metaphor for the tathāgatagarbha: sentient beings originally have afflictions obscuring their own minds and cannot realize the tathāgatagarbha and, relying on it, attain liberation.
If someone uses skillful and convenient methods, he can take out the honey and enjoy it; if sentient beings have skillful and convenient methods and subdue their afflictions, they can seek out and find the tathāgatagarbha within their own bodies. The honey-taker's first removing the swarm of bees is a metaphor: if sentient beings wish to see the mind and see the nature, they must first subdue their afflictions; by subduing the afflictions the mind becomes pure, wisdom manifests, and then they can see the mind and see the nature and realize their own tathāgatagarbha.
众生如来藏。犹如岩树蜜。结使尘劳缠。如群蜂守护。 The tathāgatagarbha within sentient beings' bodies is like the honey in the rocks and trees: the afflictive bonds of greed, anger, and delusion and the worldly toils entangle it, just like a swarm of bees guarding honey. "Bonds" means sentient beings' afflictive knots, such as the various afflictive knots of craving, resentment, folly, and self-conceit; "agents" means messengers. These afflictive agents constantly entangle one's own mind and screen it so that it does not see the tathāgatagarbha. The daily worldly toils and afflictions also bind the tathāgatagarbha within one's own body, concealing it so that one does not discover it. These afflictive bonds, agents, and worldly toils must be removed before the tathāgatagarbha can be revealed and sentient beings can realize it, enjoy its benefits, and attain liberation. If the afflictions are not removed, craving, resentment, and ignorance will make the mind impure, and then the tathāgatagarbha cannot be seen.
我为诸众生。方便说正法。灭除烦恼蜂。开发如来藏。 For the sake of all sentient beings I employ various skillful means to expound the true Dharma of the tathāgatagarbha, extinguishing the bees of affliction and opening up and revealing the tathāgatagarbha. The Dharma of the tathāgatagarbha is called the true Dharma; "true" means upright and genuinely correct. "Opening up the tathāgatagarbha" does not mean that there was originally no tathāgatagarbha which is now opened up—it does not mean that; rather, it refers to revealing and manifesting it: the tathāgatagarbha existed all along, but because afflictions covered and obstructed it, it could not be seen. Now the Tathāgata discloses the tathāgatagarbha and points it out, and by following the pointing, sentient beings can realize the tathāgatagarbha.
具足无碍辩。演说甘露法。普令成正觉。大悲济群生。 The Buddha is endowed with unobstructed eloquence, expounding fluently with wondrous words of every kind and proclaiming wondrous Dharmas of every kind, preaching the Dharma rain of nectar, universally enabling all sentient beings to extinguish afflictions, realize the tathāgatagarbha, attain pure wisdom, and ultimately become Buddha, and with a mind of great compassion delivering the multitude of beings. Through expounding the boundless Dharma of nectar, the Buddha universally enables all sentient beings to achieve correct awakening, and with boundless great compassion He universally delivers and rescues all beings, enabling them all to leave suffering and attain bliss, attain great liberation, and accomplish the Buddha Way.
Original text: 复次。善男子。譬如粳粮。未离皮糩。贫愚轻贱。谓为可弃。除荡既精。常为御用。
Explanation: The Buddha said: Furthermore, good men, it is like freshly harvested rice grain that has not been hulled nor had its chaff removed, its outer husk still wrapping it. Poor and foolish sentient beings, not recognizing genuine goods, disparage this rice grain, deeming it useless, not regarding it as noble food fit to eat, and throw it away. If the husks of the rice grain are all shelled open and the chaff removed, what remains is the precious part—refined rice; and this refined rice is what kings and ministers eat.
Although the outer husk and chaff cannot be eaten, inside there is refined rice. Poor and foolish sentient beings do not recognize the value of the unhulled rice with its husk and treat it as useless waste and discard it. If the rice grain is processed by convenient methods, removing the husk and chaff, what remains is premium refined rice. This is a simile.
Original text: 如是。善男子。我以佛眼。观诸众生。烦恼糠糩。覆蔽如来。无量知见。故以方便。如应说法。令除烦恼。净一切智。于诸世间。为最正觉。
Explanation: Good men, I observe with the Buddha eye that all sentient beings have the husk and chaff of afflictions covering the Tathāgata's boundless knowledge and vision of their own, covering their own tathāgatagarbha. Because of this covering, the Tathāgata's knowledge and vision are hidden, and what manifests is entirely sentient beings' wrong knowledge and false views (mithyā-dṛṣṭi), with the Tathāgata's wisdom not revealed. Therefore I use all kinds of convenient and skillful methods to extensively teach the Dharma for sentient beings, enabling them to remove the obstruction of these afflictive husks and chaff, purify their minds, manifest the Tathāgata's pure wisdom, and realize the tathāgatagarbha. Once the afflictions are removed, sentient beings manifest pure wisdom; when wisdom is perfected, they accomplish the Buddha Way and ultimately become Buddha.
So what does becoming a Buddha rely on? It relies on wisdom. If one wants wisdom, what should one do? One should use various convenient methods—the six pāramitās of keeping the precepts, meditative concentration (dhyāna), generosity (dāna), forbearance, diligence, and prajñā—to subdue afflictions, remove ignorance, and manifest pure wisdom, and finally, with pure wisdom, accomplish the unsurpassed correct awakening.
Original text: 尔时世尊。以偈颂曰。
譬一切粳粮 皮糩未除荡 贫者犹贱之 谓为可弃物
外虽似无用 内实不毁坏 除去皮糩已 乃为王者膳
我见众生类 烦恼隐佛藏 为说除灭法 令得一切智
如我如来性 众生亦复然 开化令清净 速成无上道
Explanation: At this point the World-Honored One summarized with a verse, saying:
譬一切粳粮。皮糩未除荡。贫者犹贱之。谓为可弃物。 It is like all grain that has not been processed, still bearing husk and shell, the chaff not removed and the husk not shelled off. Yet poor people disparage it, deeming these coarse things inedible and fit only to be discarded.
外虽似无用。内实不毁坏。除去皮糩已。乃为王者膳。 Although the outer husk and chaff seem useless, the fruit within (the polished white rice) is not damaged and must not be discarded. This simile is a metaphor for our tathāgatagarbha, which is pure and cannot be destroyed: although the outside of the tathāgatagarbha is bound by sentient beings' afflictions and its exterior seems useless, once the afflictions are peeled away, the tathāgatagarbha is revealed.
Once the outer husk and chaff are removed, it becomes the fine food enjoyed by kings and ministers; the common people, not recognizing this inner treasure, throw it away. Why do they throw it away? Because they lack merit and lack convenient and skillful methods, and so cannot enjoy the polished white rice. Therefore, when sentient beings lack merit and lack wisdom, they cannot remove afflictions and realize the tathāgatagarbha. Before removing afflictions one must also cultivate merit; only after merit has been well cultivated can one then find ways to subdue afflictions, realize the tathāgatagarbha, purify wisdom, reach the utmost purity, perfect both merit and wisdom, and accomplish the Buddha Way.
我见众生类。烦恼隐佛藏。为说除灭法。令得一切智。 I see that all sentient beings wandering through the six realms of transmigration have the treasure of the Tathāgata's store hidden and covered by their afflictions; because of these afflictive obstructions, the Tathāgata's store cannot manifest. I proclaim to sentient beings the Dharma of removing and extinguishing afflictions, enabling all sentient beings to attain the all-knowledge (sarvajña).
When afflictions obstruct it, can the tathāgatagarbha really not manifest? No. The tathāgatagarbha is constantly manifesting and never hides itself; the wise see it at all times. It is only that sentient beings' afflictions, like dark clouds blocking the sunlight, make the mind impure so that they cannot see the Tathāgata's store. Therefore the Buddha teaches the method of removing and extinguishing afflictions, enabling sentient beings to obtain pure wisdom. The all-knowledge refers to the wisdom commonly obtained through the cultivation and realization of both the Mahāyāna and the Hīnayāna, including the wisdom of liberation, the wisdom of exhaustion (kṣaya-jñāna), the wisdom of non-arising (anutpāda-jñāna), the wisdom of suffering, origin, cessation, and path, and so forth. The wisdom of suffering, origin, cessation, and path is the wisdom that severs afflictions; by severing afflictions the mind becomes pure in wisdom, and upon realizing the tathāgatagarbha, the great wisdom of prajñā then manifests.
如我如来性。众生亦复然。开化令清净。速成无上道。 Just as my Tathāgata's buddha-nature is, so too is sentient beings' tathāgata-nature. I merely transform and teach sentient beings, enabling their minds to become pure, to discover and realize their own tathāgata-nature, and then enable sentient beings to swiftly accomplish unsurpassed bodhi. The Buddha's tathāgata-nature is thus, and sentient beings' buddha-nature is also thus, no different from the Buddha's, all being incomparably pure.
The Buddha expounds the Dharma to transform sentient beings, enabling their minds to become pure and to obtain the all-knowledge, and finally, when the wisdom of all aspects (sarvākārajñatā) is fully complete, they can swiftly accomplish the unsurpassed Way. So what is the method for becoming a Buddha? Cultivate merit, subdue afflictions, obtain pure wisdom; when pure wisdom is perfected, the Buddha Way is accomplished. Now, the cultivation of all dharmas takes the realization and awakening to the tathāgatagarbha as the target, the key, and the center. Therefore the Dharma of seeing the mind and seeing the nature is the most important, the initial expedient of cultivation.
Original text: 复次。善男子。譬如真金。堕不净处。隐没不现。经历年载。真金不坏。而莫能知。
Explanation: Furthermore, good men, it is like true gold fallen into a filthy place, sunk and out of sight; after many years the true gold has not been damaged, but no one remembers it either.
The World-Honored One then gave the third simile, using true gold as a metaphor for the tathāgatagarbha. True gold falls into a filthy and defiled place, sunk and not appearing, seen by no one and impossible to retrieve; through many, many years and months the true gold does not decay. Because so much time has passed, everyone has forgotten the matter, and no one knows that there is still true gold in that filthy and defiled place. What does this filthy and defiled place refer to? It refers to the place of sentient beings' afflictions: within sentient beings' bodies of affliction there is the tathāgatagarbha, yet sentient beings themselves do not know it.
Original text: 有天眼者。语众人言。此不净中。有真金宝。汝等出之。随意受用。如是。善男子。不净处者。无量烦恼是。真金宝者。如来藏是。有天眼者。谓如来是。是故如来。广为说法。令诸众生。除灭烦恼。悉成正觉。施作佛事。
Explanation: The one with the divine eye tells the multitude: in this filthy and impure place a treasure of true gold is buried; you all should find a way to take it out, and then you can enjoy it as you wish. It is indeed so, good men: the filthy and impure place is where immeasurable afflictions gather; the treasure of true gold is the tathāgatagarbha; the one with the divine eye is the Tathāgata, the World-Honored One. Therefore the Tathāgata extensively teaches the Dharma for sentient beings, enabling all sentient beings to remove and extinguish afflictions and all to realize anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi, and then universally to deliver sentient beings so that all achieve correct and equal awakening.
A person with the divine eye can see everything; even treasures at the deepest layer beneath the earth can be seen, without any obstruction—the divine eye is unobstructed. The one with the divine eye is a metaphor for the Buddha, the World-Honored One: the Buddha's great wisdom can see the treasure of the tathāgatagarbha within sentient beings' bodies. So that sentient beings may recognize it, the Buddha teaches the Dharma and points out to them where the treasure lies, enabling them to see it. The Buddha says to sentient beings: within your five-aggregate bodies where afflictions gather, the tathāgatagarbha is buried; quickly subdue your afflictions and find Him within, obtain the treasure of wisdom, and from then on you can enjoy Him, attaining great freedom and ease; when the treasure of wisdom is complete, you become a Buddha. The Buddha came to this world to extensively teach the Dharma for sentient beings precisely in order to enable all sentient beings to remove and extinguish afflictions, all to achieve correct awakening, and then to perform Buddha works. The Buddha works the Buddha performs are teaching the Dharma and delivering the multitude, revealing to sentient beings the Tathāgata's vision and revealing to them the Dharma of the tathāgatagarbha.
Original text: 尔时世尊以偈颂曰。
如金在不净 隐没莫能见 天眼者乃见 即以告众人
汝等若出之 洗涤令清净 随意而受用 亲属悉蒙庆
善逝眼如是 观诸众生类 烦恼淤泥中 如来性不坏
随应而说法 令办一切事 佛性烦恼覆 速除令清净
Explanation: In this section the Buddha uses a verse to make a summary:
如金在不净。隐没莫能见。天眼者乃见。即以告众人。 Just like true gold sunk in a filthy and defiled place where no one can discover it, yet a person with the divine eye can see it, and after seeing it, tells sentient beings that they should find a way to take out the true gold. Thus, as soon as the Buddha attained the Way beneath the Bodhi tree, He knew that all sentient beings possess the wisdom and virtuous marks of the tathāgatagarbha, and said: "奇哉!一切众生皆具如来智慧德相，然以妄想执著不能证得。" Then the Buddha expounded the sūtras and taught the Dharma for sentient beings, extending the finger that points at the moon, telling sentient beings to follow the finger to gaze at the moon, guiding them with expedient methods for seeing the mind and seeing the nature so as to realize the Tathāgata's wisdom and virtuous marks.
汝等若出之。洗涤令清净。随意而受用。亲属悉蒙庆。 If you all can take out the true gold and wash it until clean, then you can enjoy it as you wish, and your family and relatives will all share in the joy and bliss.
Here the World-Honored One indicates to sentient beings that if they can realize the tathāgatagarbha from within the body of affliction and then purge the defiled karmic seeds, they can obtain great benefit as they wish. Sentient beings' tathāgatagarbha is wrapped up by the ignorance of afflictions and defilements; through cultivation, removing the defiled seeds and severing ignorance, it is transformed into the undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna)—that is the original piece of true gold, the perfectly clean true gold, the originally pure countenance of the tathāgatagarbha.
In fact the tathāgatagarbha is originally pure; why is it impure now? It is caused by the defilement of the seven consciousnesses. Having fallen into the impure place of affliction, it becomes a combined entity that is neither defiled nor pure (na saṃkleśo na vyavadānam) and yet both defiled and pure; it is not that He Himself is impure, but that what wraps Him is impure. Therefore sentient beings' tathāgatagarbha is also called the tathāgatagarbha in bondage—the tathāgatagarbha wrapped by sentient beings' afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion; the tathāgatagarbha whose afflictions have been washed clean is called the tathāgatagarbha out of bondage. The tathāgatagarbha freed from the bonds is the undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna) of the Buddha ground, also called true suchness (tathatā).
善逝眼如是。观诸众生类。烦恼淤泥中。如来性不坏。 Such is the Buddha eye: observing all classes of sentient beings, within the mire of afflictions there is the Tathāgata's wisdom and virtuous marks, intact and indestructible; the buddha-nature is forever pure, never perishing or being destroyed.
"Sugata" (Well-Gone One) is one of the Buddha's epithets, implying that He departs the world well, going to the place of great liberation, without the encumbrance of karmic obstructions, free and at ease. The Buddha eye sees that although sentient beings have fallen into the various afflictions of greed, anger, delusion, conceit, doubt, and wrong views (mithyā-dṛṣṭi), the buddha-nature, the tathāgatagarbha, within these afflictions is originally pure and undefiled and never perishes or is destroyed.
随应而说法。令办一切事。佛性烦恼覆。速除令清净。 The Tathāgata, in accordance with sentient beings' various faculties (indriya), teaches various Dharmas in response, enabling sentient beings to realize the mind of the fundamental essence, the tathāgatagarbha, and to accomplish all endeavors. The buddha-nature is covered by afflictions, so sentient beings cannot see the buddha-nature; they should remove the afflictions, open up the obstructions, and purify the mind, and then the buddha-nature can manifest within the mind. The buddha-nature is originally pure and originally manifesting; only because afflictions cover the mind is it not seen. Therefore one should quickly remove these afflictions and obtain pure wisdom. Thus cultivation means removing the defilements of the deluded mind of the seven consciousnesses, and then opening great wisdom and becoming Buddha.
Original text: 复次。善男子。譬如贫家。有珍宝藏。宝不能言。我在于此。既不自知。又无语者。不能开发。此珍宝藏。一切众生。亦复如是。如来知见。力无所畏。大法宝藏。在其身内。不闻不知。耽惑五欲。轮转生死。受苦无量。
Explanation: The Buddha gave a fourth simile. Furthermore, good men, it is like a poor family that has a treasure hidden and unseen in the house, which cannot be found. The treasure itself cannot speak, cannot tell people "I am here," and cannot display itself for everyone to know. All sentient beings are also like this: they are endowed with the Tathāgata's wisdom and virtuous marks, endowed with the ten powers and four fearlessnesses, and have the great treasure store of Dharma within their five-aggregate bodies, yet they do not hear of it or know it, and instead indulge in afflictive delusion and karma and in the five desires and six sense objects, transmigrating through birth and death and suffering immeasurably. For this reason the Buddhas appear in the world, teaching the Dharma to transform the ignorant and unhearing obstinate sentient beings, enabling them to realize true reality and attain liberation.
The treasure of the tathāgatagarbha is also like this: He does not know Himself, cannot speak, cannot express Himself, and cannot actively display Himself for the multitude to know. Therefore the tathāgatagarbha cannot realize Himself and cannot find Himself out; thus the tathāgatagarbha cannot become enlightened—He cannot awaken to Himself. Even if the tathāgatagarbha could awaken to Himself, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses still would not have awakened to the tathāgatagarbha; the sixth and seventh consciousnesses would still be full of ignorance, deluded and inverted, never having been enlightened—they would still be nothing but ordinary beings.
That is to say: the tathāgatagarbha within the five-aggregate body does not know itself and cannot prove itself; even if the tathāgatagarbha could prove itself, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses would not know or realize it and would still not awaken. By the same principle, when we investigate Chan seeking the tathāgatagarbha, the tathāgatagarbha cannot tell us where He is, nor can He prove His own existence and thereby consider Himself enlightened. This shows that investigating Chan means using the aware mind consciousness and manas to seek the tathāgatagarbha; it is not the tathāgatagarbha searching for itself. Therefore, seeing the mind and becoming enlightened means that the mind consciousness and manas realize the tathāgatagarbha and see the tathāgatagarbha; it is not that the tathāgatagarbha realizes itself. Nor is it the tathāgatagarbha that sees the mind and sees the nature; rather, it is the mind consciousness and manas that see the mind, with the tathāgatagarbha as the object of the seeing, and see the tathāgatagarbha's nature and function. This is what "seeing the mind and seeing the nature" means.
When we investigate Chan, the tathāgatagarbha will not step forward and say "I am here"; the tathāgatagarbha has no nature of self, He cannot prove Himself by saying "I am the tathāgatagarbha," and He does not know Himself either; the tathāgatagarbha is wordless, not corresponding to language and words. Just as the treasure the Buddha spoke of cannot realize itself and cannot find itself, it is sentient beings who seek the treasure—that is, it is our five aggregates and seven consciousnesses that seek the tathāgatagarbha and realize the tathāgatagarbha, thereby seeing the mind and seeing the nature.
In this passage the World-Honored One affirms most definitely that sentient beings have the tathāgatagarbha within their bodies: the tathāgatagarbha truly exists, is a real entity, is not nothingness, is not merely a name and designation, and is not an expedient teaching. No one may any longer foolishly say that the tathāgatagarbha is merely a provisional name, a concept, without real substance and nonexistent, and therefore foolishly say that enlightenment is seeing a nothingness. Whoever makes such a statement again—even a thousand Buddhas appearing in the world could not save and deliver him; he will sink in transmigration for endless kalpas.
The tathāgatagarbha can give birth to and uphold all dharmas and governs all dharmas. He is like a vajra, permanently abiding and indestructible; nothing can destroy Him; on the contrary, He can make all dharmas arise, abide, change, and cease. His power of merit (puṇya-bala) is incomparably mighty, endowed with the ten powers and four fearlessnesses, without rival. The tathāgatagarbha is within sentient beings' five-aggregate bodies, yet sentient beings themselves do not hear of it or know it; life after life they drown in the five desires of wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep, wallow in form, sound, smell, taste, and touch, and transmigrate through birth and death, suffering immeasurably.
Original text: 是故诸佛。出兴于世。为开身内。如来法藏。彼即信受。净一切智。普为众生。开如来藏。无碍辩才。为大施主。如是。善男子。我以佛眼。观诸众生。有如来藏。故为诸菩萨。而说此法。
Explanation: The Buddha said: For this reason the Buddhas appear in the world in order to reveal the Tathāgata's Dharma store within sentient beings' bodies; after sentient beings believe and accept it, they can purify all wisdom. The Buddha, the World-Honored One, has unobstructed eloquence and is the great giver (dānapati) of sentient beings, extensively revealing to them the true Dharma of the tathāgatagarbha. When sentient beings believe and accept without doubt and their wisdom becomes pure, they realize the tathāgatagarbha. Thus, good men, I observe with the Buddha eye that all sentient beings have the wisdom and virtuous marks within their bodies, that all have the tathāgatagarbha permanently abiding in their bodies, imperishable and indestructible, pure without remainder. Therefore, with various teachings, words, and similes, I reveal and display it to sentient beings, enabling them to open, reveal, awaken to, and enter the Buddha's knowledge and vision.
Original text: 尔时世尊以偈颂曰。
譬如贫人家 内有珍宝藏 主既不知见 宝又不能言
穷年抱愚冥 无有示语者 有宝而不知 故常致贫苦
佛眼观众生 虽流转五道 大宝在身内 常在不变易
如是观察已 而为众生说 令得智宝藏 大富兼广利
若信我所说 一切有宝藏 信勤方便行 疾成无上道
Explanation: After this simile was finished, finally the Buddha used a verse to summarize this section:
譬如贫人家。内有珍宝藏。主既不知见。宝又不能言。 It is like a poor family with a treasure store hidden in the house; the master does not know of it, cannot see it or find it, and the treasure itself cannot say "I am here."
穷年抱愚冥。无有示语者。有宝而不知。故常致贫苦。 So this poor person, for many, many years, carrying this foolishness, did not know that a treasure was hidden in his home and lived for years in poverty and begging. Moreover, no one told him that a treasure was buried in his house, still less could anyone tell him where the treasure was hidden, because at that time he lacked merit and could not yet enjoy the treasure. In this way, although there was clearly a treasure in his own home, the master did not know it, and the treasure itself would not speak up; therefore this person was constantly poor and distressed, living the life of a lowly pauper.
佛眼观众生。虽流转五道。大宝在身内。常在不变易。 The Buddha eye observes sentient beings: although sentient beings transmigrate through the five destinies, they have a great treasure store within their bodies, forever existing in the five-aggregate body and unable to be altered or damaged; the great treasure store can benefit and bring bliss to sentient beings without end. The five destinies refer to the five destinies of devas, humans, hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals; the asura destiny is distributed among these five destinies.
如是观察已。而为众生说。令得智宝藏。大富兼广利。 After the Buddha thus observed and knew that sentient beings have a great treasure store within their bodies, He expounded the sūtras and Dharma for them, revealing to them the treasure within their own bodies, enabling sentient beings to realize the great treasure store of wisdom within their bodies, become greatly wealthy elders, and extensively benefit immeasurable sentient beings. Is the treasure of wisdom that sentient beings obtain obtained from outside? No, it is the treasure within sentient beings' own bodies, not obtained from outside—it is the treasure originally possessed in one's own home, merely found.
若信我所说。一切有宝藏。信勤方便行。疾成无上道。 If sentient beings believe what I (the Buddha) say—that all sentient beings have a treasure store within their bodies—then as long as they can believe and diligently practice the various expedient methods, diligently cultivating the bodhisattva's six pāramitās, they can swiftly accomplish the unsurpassed Buddha Way. First one must believe the Buddha's statement that one's own body contains the tathāgatagarbha, completing the stage of faith; then diligently cultivate the bodhisattva's six pāramitās, fulfilling the conditions for being a bodhisattva; using various expedients, extensively practice the bodhisattva's six pāramitās; finally one can realize the tathāgatagarbha, see the mind and see the nature, obtain the great pure wisdom, obtain the wisdom of all aspects (sarvākārajñatā), and finally swiftly accomplish the unsurpassed correct and equal awakening.
Below is the fifth simile, using the āmalaka fruit as a metaphor for the tathāgatagarbha.
Original text: 复次。善男子。譬如庵罗果。内实不坏。种之于地。成大树王。如是。善男子。我以佛眼。观诸众生。如来宝藏。在无明壳。犹如果种。在于核内。
Explanation: Furthermore, good men, it is like an āmalaka fruit whose inner fruit is indeed not damaged; plant the seed within the pit in the great earth, and afterward the seed sprouts, takes root, flowers, and bears fruit, finally becoming a great king of trees. Thus, good men, I observe all sentient beings with the Buddha eye: the treasure of the Tathāgata is within the shell of ignorance in sentient beings' minds, just like the seed of the fruit within the pit.
An extremely tall and great tree is the king of trees; then how big is the tree seed? Extremely tiny, yet when the tree seed is planted in the ground, it can grow into a towering tree. The fruit of the āmalaka is a metaphor for the tathāgatagarbha; the flesh and pit outside the āmalaka fruit are a metaphor for the shell of ignorance—that is, the tathāgatagarbha is wrapped within sentient beings' shell of afflictions. With such thick ignorance in their minds, can sentient beings see the tathāgatagarbha? Of course not. So the Buddha comes to teach sentient beings the method for seeing the tathāgatagarbha: peel open the shell of ignorance to expose the fruit, and then this fruit has great use; within the pit there is a seed, and when this seed is planted in the ground in the future, it will sprout, take root, flower, and bear fruit, growing into a towering tree.
Original text: 善男子。彼如来藏。清凉无热。大智慧聚。妙寂泥洹。名为如来。应供等正觉。
Explanation: Good men, that tathāgatagarbha is cool and refreshing, without feverish vexation; His mind-ground is pure, without the ignorance and afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion. He has gathered the incomparable great wisdom of both the mundane and the supramundane, abiding in the wondrous, tranquil, unborn and undying nirvāṇa realm; He is the Tathāgata's Dharmakāya, also called the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Correctly Awakened One.
The tathāgatagarbha is cool and refreshing, without feverish vexation; feverish vexation is the ignorance and afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, while coolness is incomparable purity, without the afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, with the inner mind tranquil. The tathāgatagarbha is the treasure store of great wisdom; all wisdom gathers within the tathāgatagarbha. He is also the maṇi jewel, able to manifest all dharmas and transform and give birth to all dharmas. The wondrous tranquility of nirvāṇa has inexhaustible wondrous functions—all of this describes the tathāgatagarbha, supremely tranquil and pure. Nirvāṇa refers to possessing the nirvāṇa-nature of non-arising and non-ceasing, neither defiled nor pure (na saṃkleśo na vyavadānam), neither coming nor going; He is named the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Correctly Awakened One. This pure store is also expediently called the Buddha; after discovering Him, when one's wisdom has become ultimately pure, one perfectly becomes a Buddha. Only because one possesses one's own tathāgatagarbha can one in the future become the Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Perfectly and Correctly Awakened One.
