Patriarch's Teachings: Direct Interpretation
Chapter Four: A Brief Explanation of the Sixth Patriarch’s Five "How Could It Be That the Self-Nature..."
When the Sixth Patriarch attained great enlightenment, he realized the true mind and observed its functioning. Deeply moved, he articulated five characteristics of the true suchness of self-nature, as follows:
How could it be that the self-nature is originally pure? How could it be that the self-nature is originally neither born nor extinguished?
How could it be that the self-nature is originally complete? How could it be that the self-nature is originally unmoving?
How could it be that the self-nature can give rise to all dharmas?
The above five "How could it be that the self-nature..." are the enlightenment verses spoken by the Sixth Patriarch upon hearing the Fifth Patriarch explain the Diamond Sutra to him, indicating that the Sixth Patriarch’s realization was profound and thorough. Among them, "the self-nature is originally pure" reveals the pure essential nature of the Tathagatagarbha; "the self-nature is originally neither born nor extinguished" reveals the unborn and unextinguished essential nature of the Tathagatagarbha; "the self-nature is originally complete" reveals the essential nature of the Tathagatagarbha, which contains and is complete with the seeds of all dharmas; "the self-nature is originally unmoving" reveals the essential nature of the Tathagatagarbha, which does not change itself according to phenomena, remaining unchanging while adapting to conditions and adapting to conditions while remaining unchanging; "the self-nature can give rise to all dharmas" reveals the essential nature of the Tathagatagarbha, which can give birth to all dharmas.
These statements by the Sixth Patriarch prove that at the moment of his enlightenment, he possessed the wisdom of discerning particulars (别相智, *bie xiang zhi*). At that time, he was able to observe the Tathagatagarbha giving rise to the five-aggregate world and see that within the functioning of the five aggregates, the Tathagatagarbha does not move or change along with them. This wisdom is extremely profound, built upon the foundation of realization accumulated over many lifetimes and eons in the past. Only with such a foundation could his present-life realization be so swift and deep. A detailed explanation follows:
I. How Could It Be That the Self-Nature Is Originally Pure?
Originally, this self-nature mind is inherently pure like this; it is not purified later through human effort. Why is the self-nature Tathagatagarbha originally pure? Because it does not perceive the specific appearances of the six dust realms (objects of the six senses), does not understand what the six dust realms are, and does not discriminate between the good or bad, right or wrong, long or short, square or round within them. Therefore, when functioning within the six dust realms, it never gives rise to greed, hatred, or delusion, nor does it give rise to thoughts or make decisions on its own. When it cognizes karmic seeds, it does not know that this seed is good or that seed is evil; although it cognizes them, it still does not know good or evil. Therefore, it makes no choices regarding karmic seeds and can impartially manifest karmic causes and effects. After cognizing karmic seeds, it accords with them, outputs the seeds of the four great elements and the seven great elements, creates Buddha bodies, human bodies, hell bodies, heavenly palaces, and also creates filthy things. It treats good and evil, beautiful and ugly equally, without discrimination, creating and sustaining them all.
Its mind is so pure, naturally and inherently functioning all dharmas without discriminating right from wrong or beauty from ugliness. It knows where to send the seeds of the four great elements, in what proportion, how much to send, and for how long. It also knows when to create what material form (色法, *rūpa-dharma*). For example, when a sentient being is in the mother's womb, it knows when to create the head, ears, nose, etc., where to create them, where to place them, what shape they should be, and what color they should be. Yet, it does not discriminate regarding any of these dharmas.
Let us consider how strange and mysterious it is; for countless eons, it has always functioned like this. It knows where to place the hands when creating a sentient being's body, what the internal organs look like, how big they are, what the skin is like; it naturally creates them all, one by one. Whether creating a human, an animal, or a hungry ghost body from the five aggregates (五阴, *pañca-skandha*), it can create it precisely according to the karmic seeds, without the slightest error. It is truly wondrous.
The wondrousness of the Tathagatagarbha is utterly inconceivable. It can instantly manifest a trichiliocosm (三千大千世界, *trisāhasramahāsāhasralokadhātu*) and countless transformation bodies or mind-made bodies (意生身, *manomayakāya*). To instantly accomplish countless mind-made bodies and create one trichiliocosm, it must instantly output immeasurable seeds of the four great elements from within its mind-essence. The number of seeds of the seven great elements within its mind-essence is incalculable and unimaginable. For instance, when an eighth-ground Bodhisattva (八地菩萨, *aṣṭamabhūmika-bodhisattva*) gives rise to a single thought intending to manifest countless transformation bodies, the Tathagatagarbha immediately manifests countless physical bodies. If an eighth-ground Bodhisattva gives rise to a thought intending to manifest one trichiliocosm, the Tathagatagarbha can also immediately manifest a trichiliocosm. In the time it takes to snap one's fingers, a trichiliocosm is manifested, and countless transformation bodies can be created simultaneously. How exactly does the Tathagatagarbha output the seeds of earth, water, fire, and wind (四大种子)? So swiftly, so miraculously fast, we simply cannot conceive of it. Yet, no matter how many great chiliocosms or material forms it creates, the Tathagatagarbha is never attached, remaining supremely pure.
II. How Could It Be That the Self-Nature Is Originally Neither Born Nor Extinguished?
Originally, the self-nature pure mind is inherently neither born nor extinguished; it is not born later through human effort, nor can it be destroyed later by human effort. The essential substance of the self-nature Tathagatagarbha is unborn and unextinguished. Why is it unborn? Because the Tathagatagarbha does not need to be born; it exists inherently. There is no dharma within or beyond the world that gives birth to it. It does not depend on any dharma for its existence, yet all dharmas depend on it to exist. Regardless of whether other dharmas exist or not, it inherently exists, unaffected. The Tathagatagarbha never perishes; it cannot vanish by itself, nor is there any dharma capable of destroying it. It is a vajra-indestructible body.
If the Tathagatagarbha could perish, then all dharmas would also vanish completely without a trace. The five aggregates and eighteen realms (五阴十八界, *pañca-skandha-aṣṭādaśa-dhātu*) of sentient beings would immediately cease to exist, not even a shadow remaining. The worlds of the ten directions would instantly disappear; all worlds would cease to exist, not even silence remaining. After all dharmas are extinguished, how could the Tathagatagarbha be born? Is there any dharma that can give birth to the Tathagatagarbha? There is no dharma that can give birth to the Tathagatagarbha, because if the world is gone and no dharma exists, the Tathagatagarbha cannot be born. If the Tathagatagarbha is not born, all dharmas will never be born again. From then on, there truly would be not even silence, not even stillness or emptiness, not even voidness. Therefore, the Tathagatagarbha is neither born nor extinguished.
III. How Could It Be That the Self-Nature Is Originally Complete?
Originally, the self-nature pure mind is inherently complete with all dharmas, lacking not a single dharma; therefore, it can give rise to all dharmas according to conditions. Why is this so? The seeds of all dharmas are within the Tathagatagarbha, all complete, not missing a single dharma. The Tathagatagarbha contains the seeds of all dharmas; whatever dharma is needed, it has it—good dharmas, evil dharmas, neutral dharmas, Buddhist dharmas, non-Buddhist dharmas, dharmas of the five aggregates, dharmas of beings in the six realms, dharmas of the worlds in the ten directions, all dharmas within the three realms—it can output the seeds of these dharmas and then, based on the seeds, give birth to all dharmas.
How can the conscious mind (意识心, *mano-vijñāna*) perceive that the Tathagatagarbha is inherently complete with all dharmas, contains all dharmas, and manifests all dharmas? First, one must realize the Tathagatagarbha. After realization, one attains great prajñā wisdom and can gradually observe the functioning of the Tathagatagarbha within the five-aggregate body during meditation. This way, one can perceive the arising of the dharmas of the five-aggregate world. At the moment of realizing the mind and attaining the Tathagatagarbha (明心证得如来藏, *ming xin zhengde rulai zang*), one knows how the Tathagatagarbha functions. By gradually observing its operation, one comes to know that it has such dharmas, it has such wisdom here and there, it functions this way here and that way there, it produces this dharma in this way and that dharma in that way.
After realization, one gradually comes to know the functions, virtues, and inherent uses of the Tathagatagarbha, and subsequent wisdom (后得智, *prṣṭhalabdha-jñāna*) arises. When subsequent wisdom is perfectly complete, it gives birth to the wisdom of the path and its seeds (道种智, *mārgabīja-jñāna*). The functional roles of the Tathagatagarbha are realized more and more; the functional roles of all the dharma seeds it contains are realized increasingly until finally all are realized; how these seeds manifest the trichiliocosm, how they create sentient beings—all becomes known; regarding worldly dharmas, upon contact, one knows their origins and outcomes, the details of their internal workings—all becomes known. At this point, one possesses the wisdom of all modes (一切种智, *sarvathā-jñāna*) and becomes a perfectly enlightened Buddha.
Upon becoming a Buddha, there is not a single dharma, worldly or beyond, that one is ignorant of; all are known completely, because the Buddha has realized and knows all the seeds of all dharmas. When the Buddha sees a person, he knows that person's origins and outcomes, circumstances throughout beginningless eons past, and circumstances throughout beginningless eons future—all are known exhaustively. Not even the tiniest detail is missed. Why this person has their present karmic retribution, what future karmic retribution they will have, what past karmic retribution they experienced, what people and events they encountered, what family and relatives they had, what karmic actions they performed throughout beginningless eons—the Buddha knows it all; there is not a single dharma unknown to the Buddha.
How many leaves a very large tree has, its history, age, growth rings, and all circumstances of its growth—the Buddha knows it all. When it rains in a trichiliocosm, the total number of raindrops—the Buddha knows it. The good roots, blessings, timing, conditions, and thoughts arising in each sentient being throughout the ten directions—the Buddha knows them all. When each sentient being's good roots mature—the Buddha knows it. For certain people, when to teach what dharma, how to guide them—the Buddha knows it.
What desires sentient beings have, why they revolve in the cycle of birth and death within the six realms, when they will revolve to which realm—the Buddha knows it all. All dharmas in the world, the Buddha knows them. Even if the Buddha is not incarnated as a human, not present in the human world, he still knows everything about human affairs. All human technology, the principles of manufacturing and operating cars, airplanes, rockets—these are trivial matters, not worth mentioning. Humans engage in science, research, creation, and invention; the Buddha has no need for these, nor does he need to think about them. He knows all things completely because he possesses direct experiential wisdom (现量智慧, *pratyakṣa-jñāna*).
Humans consider manufacturing airplanes, rockets, and spaceships high technology. Yet, the Buddha, in a single thought, can manifest a great chiliocosm, including all material forms within it, let alone human-made airplanes and rockets—all can be manifested by a single thought of the Buddha. Therefore, as long as one can learn and practice Buddhism, and blessings are complete, all the seeds of all dharmas contained within the Tathagatagarbha can be transformed into all dharmas; all dharmas will manifest. However, such practice requires severing all greed and attachment, having no greed or attachment to any dharmas of the threefold world. Then one possesses great blessings, and all dharmas will perfectly manifest according to one's wishes. The more greed one has, the narrower the mind becomes, the less blessings one possesses, the poorer one becomes. The more one lets go, the more one gains; without letting go, there is no gain. Only by relinquishing everything can great wisdom and great blessings appear. Only then can the five aggregates be complete with all dharmas, and finally, all the seeds of all dharmas within the Tathagatagarbha can be used at will.
IV. How Could It Be That the Self-Nature Is Originally Unmoving?
Who would have thought that originally the self-nature does not move or change according to phenomena? Because it is unmoving by phenomena, it is forever unmoving like thusness (如如不动, *tathatā*) in the face of all realms. The Tathagatagarbha functions within the dharmas of the threefold world but never shifts or changes its mind according to the transformation of realms. When joyful events appear, it does not rejoice; when hateful events appear, it does not hate; when the five aggregates are angry, it is not angry; when the five aggregates gain wealth, get promoted, lose wealth, suffer hardship, or fall into hell, it has no opinion—none of this concerns it. When all dharmas arrive, it remains unmoving. Why? Because it does not know what the objects of the six senses (六尘境界, *ṣaḍ-viṣaya*) are; it does not specifically discriminate between the good/evil, beautiful/ugly, or right/wrong of the six dust realms. It does not know the nature of the six dust realms; it doesn't know good or bad. It is a mind that knows no good from ill, hence it does not waver according to the goodness or badness of the realm.
If it knew good from ill, it would sway left and right, following the good and ill, and become moved. If it knew good from ill, it would certainly give rise to thoughts. For example, if the seventh consciousness (七识, *manas*) wanted to kill someone, it would not allow the seventh consciousness to kill; it might even extinguish the seventh consciousness. If the seventh consciousness wanted to create evil karma, knowing it was bad, it would not allow the seventh consciousness to create evil karma. If pleasant sounds came, or unpleasant sounds came, it would then waver, moving along with the six dust realms. But since it does not discriminate the six dusts, it does not move along with them. The seventh consciousness is thirsty, but it is not thirsty. The seventh consciousness drinks water to quench thirst, but it feels nothing—these matters are completely unrelated to it.
Although the Tathagatagarbha can function upon all dharmas, it never moves or changes according to any dharma; it does not give rise to thoughts; its mind does not follow the realm. But do our sixth and seventh consciousnesses follow the realm? Of course they do. When the physical body is well, the seventh consciousness is in one state; when the physical body is unwell, the seventh consciousness is in another state. When liked objects appear, the seventh consciousness is in one state; when disliked objects appear, the seventh consciousness is in another state. Our sixth and seventh consciousness minds are like this, drifting and swaying with the six dust realms. Yet the Tathagatagarbha has never wavered; it will never waver.
When the seventh consciousness studies Buddhism, feeling that learning the Buddha Dharma can lead to liberation and bring true benefit, thinking the Buddha Dharma is truly good, the Tathagatagarbha has no such feeling whatsoever. The matter of studying Buddhism for liberation is unrelated to it, so it does not study Buddhism along with it. When the seventh consciousness creates evil karma, it does not create evil karma along with it. When the seventh consciousness falls into hell and suffers, it does not suffer. When the seventh consciousness is born in heaven and enjoys blessings, it is indifferent and does not enjoy blessings along with it. It is forever unmoving towards all dharmas, neither joyful nor hateful, neither averse nor attached.
When sentient beings fall into hell, it does not say, "Quickly get out of this hellish place!" It has no such thought. If it had thoughts, it could simply abandon the physical body and be done with it. But it never abandons sentient beings because it knows no good from ill; it forever follows sentient beings without forsaking them. It does not know that a sentient being's body is a hell body; it has no concept of this, nor does it know the suffering of hell; it is completely in a state of equanimity (舍受, *upekṣā-vedanā*).
V. How Could It Be That the Self-Nature Can Give Rise to All Dharmas?
Who would have thought that originally the self-nature pure mind can give rise to all dharmas? All dharmas are born from it. The Tathagatagarbha gives birth to all dharmas, to the five aggregates. Only after realizing the Tathagatagarbha can one directly perceive this. Before realization, it is all learned words, speculation, and imagination. After realizing the mind (明心, *ming xin*), when directly observing the Tathagatagarbha functioning within the five-aggregate body, one can observe how the Tathagatagarbha gives birth to the five aggregates, how it gives birth to visible forms, how it gives birth to audible sounds, how colors, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and dharmas (objects of mind) are all born. At this point, one also knows how the Tathagatagarbha gives birth to all dharmas. The Tathagatagarbha giving birth to the trichiliocosm cannot be observed for a considerable time after realization. Only Bodhisattvas who have entered the grounds (地后菩萨, *bhūmi-praveśa-bodhisattva*) and possess extremely profound wisdom of the path and its seeds (道种智, *mārgabīja-jñāna*) can gradually observe it. By then, one does not know to which Bodhisattva ground (菩萨地, *bodhisattva-bhūmi*) one has cultivated.
After realization, one can only gradually observe that the Tathagatagarbha can give birth to the five aggregates, the eighteen realms, and the general circumstances of the birth of the physical body. More specific details cannot yet be observed. Many profound dharmas cannot be observed in a short time; one needs to cultivate to the point of having deeper wisdom to observe some aspects. After entering the grounds—first ground, second ground, third ground, fourth ground, and beyond—the dharmas observed become increasingly numerous, profound, subtle, and vast. Finally, when all are observed, one becomes a Buddha.
At the initial moment of enlightenment, the dharmas one can observe are very superficial. As wisdom and meditative concentration increase, the dharmas observed become increasingly profound and subtle. The deeper the wisdom, the more profound, subtle, and specific the dharmas comprehended and observed. Without wisdom, one can only understand the general idea, unable to penetrate the depth or subtlety at all. Profound and subtle dharmas represent profound and subtle great wisdom.
When the mind lacks wisdom and practice has not yet begun, speaking the Dharma is just empty sloganeering, without a concrete starting point for practice. Because one has not cultivated it out, lacking experience and wisdom regarding specific practice, one can only shout empty slogans and speak impractical words. Only after truly cultivating it out and walking that path can one have a very clear route, able to guide others to follow. One can instruct others step by step in concrete practice; there is no need at all to shout slogans anymore.
The above is a brief explanation of the Sixth Patriarch’s five "How could it be that the self-nature...". If anyone feels they have attained realization, they can compare it with the Sixth Patriarch’s enlightenment verses to check whether their realization aligns with the Sixth Patriarch’s. Only then can misunderstandings be avoided, preventing self-deception and misleading others.
