The Manas Guiding the Tathāgatagarbha to Attain Buddhahood

The Tathagatagarbha is profoundly mysterious and subtle, entirely beyond the sway of our will. However, after understanding the essence of the Tathagatagarbha, and especially after realizing it, we can lead the Tathagatagarbha by the nose. By performing virtuous deeds, we compel it to store wholesome karma and generate wholesome retribution—physical, verbal, and mental goodness. The Tathagatagarbha has no choice but to cooperate in creating wholesome karma, storing wholesome seeds, and producing wholesome results.

Where is the "nose" of the Tathagatagarbha? The mano-vijñāna (the seventh consciousness) is the hand that leads it by the nose. The mano-vijñāna (the sixth consciousness) leads the mano-vijñāna, which in turn leads the Tathagatagarbha—each leading the next, advancing along the path of learning Buddhism until reaching the final rest at home. Is this path arduous? Resisting the karmic forces accumulated since beginningless kalpas is immensely difficult. Because the karmic obstacles are too vast, the karmic hindrances too heavy, the ignorance too deep, the virtuous roots too shallow, the merit and virtue too meager, and the vow-power too weak—all this causes us to advance and retreat over three great immeasurable kalpas on the path of cultivation, like rowing against the current. Without unwavering perseverance, success is unattainable.