The Two Aspects of Suchness

Suchness has two meanings. One refers to the essence of the true mind, which is the eighth consciousness, the ālaya-vijñāna. The other refers to the attributes of the true mind, which are the true nature of the ālaya-vijñāna and its unchanging, unmoving state with regard to all phenomena. Regardless of which meaning suchness conveys, it is unconditioned. However, when suchness refers to the mind-essence itself, it is unborn and undying. When suchness refers to the attributes of the true mind, it is an unreal dharma, because attributes can only exist depending on the essence. The essence alone is real; attributes are descriptions and expressions of the essence, so they are certainly not real dharmas, not autonomous dharmas. For example, a piece of clothing is the essence, it truly exists. Adjectives describing the clothing, such as beautiful, elegant, well-fitting, luxurious, etc., depend on the clothing to exist. Even when they exist, they have no substantial reality—they cannot be touched, cannot be grasped, cannot be worn; they can only be appreciated and felt. These adjectives describe what is not autonomous, not truly existent, not the essence.

Suchness is likewise used to describe the characteristics of the essence of the eighth consciousness. It is of the same nature as adjectives like beautiful, elegant, or luxurious—it cannot replace the essence. The only autonomous dharma is the essence of the eighth consciousness. The only unborn, undying dharma is the essence of the eighth consciousness. Yet the attributes of the eighth consciousness are provisionally existent, artificially named, not substantially real, not the real, unborn, undying dharma.