Is Tathāgatagarbha the Ātman?

The Tathagatagarbha is both the self and not the self—this principle is profound beyond measure. The five aggregates are non-self, and all dharmas produced by the Tathagatagarbha are non-self, for they are characterized by arising and ceasing, emptiness, impermanence, suffering, cannot be grasped, cannot be attained, and cannot be preserved.

However, the Tathagatagarbha of sentient beings is not characterized by suffering, emptiness, impermanence, or change. Within it, there exists no notion of "self"; it does not recognize the existence of a "self," nor does it possess the nature of a sovereign self. Yet, its essence contains defiled karmic seeds that arise, cease, and change. Only upon reaching Buddhahood, when the defiled karmic seeds are extinguished within the Buddha's Tathagatagarbha—the immaculate consciousness—do the seeds cease to arise, cease, or change. It is then that the true self-nature manifests, and it is then the true self.