What Is the "Condition" in Dharmas That Arise from Causes and Conditions?

The conditions required for dharmas to arise are a kind of assisting condition, a helping and facilitating force—they do not play the leading role; the leading role belongs to the cause. For example, if A is struck by B, this is an unwholesome dharma; the condition is that A and B meet—by relying on a person and an event, the phenomenon of striking someone arises. In fact, before this, there was a cause that brought about the occurrence of this incident; without the prior cause, this event would not necessarily have happened, even with many assisting conditions. If there were no prior cause, then this incident of striking would become the cause of later events: when assisting conditions appear later, because of the cause established by this incident, A would seek revenge on B, and B might be struck or suffer retaliation in other forms.

The prior cause is a dharma produced by causes and conditions, and is illusory; the later effect is a dharma produced by causes and conditions, and is equally illusory. Whichever dharma it may be, it is a dharma produced by causes and conditions, and all are illusory and unreal.

The cause is illusory, and the effect is also illusory; both are produced through the combined functioning of the eight consciousnesses. The driving force is the manas, the creator is the eighth consciousness, and with the six consciousnesses cooperating, dharmas are conjured forth. Among these, the seven consciousnesses are also conjured—illusory dharmas produce illusory dharmas, illusion upon illusion. The eighth consciousness is not illusory; only then can it conjure forth all dharmas. If the eighth consciousness were illusory, then there would have to be a dharma that conjured the illusory eighth consciousness, and tracing further back, everything would be illusory, with no dharma that is not illusory—and then the dharma realm could not be established.