The Dharma abides in its own dharma-stage, and the marks of the world are ever-present.

The Lotus Sutra says: 是法住法位，世间相常在。The dharma spoken of here and the worldly phenomena must certainly be distinguished from each other, otherwise the World-Honored One would not have spoken of them separately. Worldly phenomena are lacking in self-mastery and autonomy, arising and ceasing, mutable and impermanent; so why does the sutra here say they are constantly present? Dharmas that arise and cease impermanently must rely upon an unarising, unceasing, ever-abiding dharma in order to continuously arise, continuously change, and perish. As long as this ever-abiding dharma does not perish, the world will forever continue arising and ceasing without end. The individual instances of worldly phenomena exist for a period of time and then perish, yet the world of phenomena as a whole is always continuously present—all of this is owed to the unarising, ever-abiding dharma, the eighth consciousness.

The eighth consciousness is different from worldly phenomena and is not mixed together with them; it forever abides in the pure state of nirvāṇa. No matter how worldly phenomena arise, cease, and change, He does not participate in them—suchness is immovable, His mind does not move along with worldly phenomena, and no mutation, affliction, or ignorance occurs in Him. Therefore, the dharma of the eighth consciousness's own substance forever abides unmoving in the pure, undefiled state of nirvāṇa, and the worldly phenomena that He gives rise to, relying upon Him, will also forever continuously arise and perish—the phenomena of the world do not cease.