The Gap Between Realizing the Tathāgatagarbha and Successfully Transforming the Basis as Tathāgatagarbha

Realizing the tathāgatagarbha is the prerequisite, and the accomplishment of the transformation of the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti) is the result; between the prerequisite and the result lies a long stretch of time approaching one incalculable kalpa. After awakening, one can directly observe the functioning of the tathāgatagarbha within the body of the five aggregates (pañcaskandha); after the wisdom of specific characteristics arises, one's wisdom becomes ever deeper and more subtle, and one's observation of the tathāgatagarbha becomes ever more meticulous and penetrating. In this observation, one will discover that the five aggregates are increasingly unreal, and one's grasping at the body of the five aggregates grows ever lighter and fainter; at the same time, one can also observe the pure and unconditioned nature of the tathāgatagarbha in its functioning, as well as its conditioned nature that is without self and without afflictions.

Whether it is the tathāgatagarbha's pure and unconditioned nature or its unafflicted conditioned nature, both are supremely noble and pure, excellent qualities. The sixth and seventh consciousnesses will imperceptibly be influenced and nurtured by them, and the mind's disposition will unknowingly undergo change, increasingly inclining toward the mind's disposition of the tathāgatagarbha—this is what is called the transformation of the basis as tathāgatagarbha. Although one is relying on the tathāgatagarbha to transform one's own mind's disposition, one has not yet gone from quantitative change to qualitative change; the accumulation of quantity is still insufficient to change one's mind's disposition in essence and in actuality, so the reliance on the tathāgatagarbha is not yet successful.

What are the signs of the successful accomplishment of the transformation of the basis? The signs of success lie mainly in the transformation of the mind's disposition: afflictions eliminated, the mind-ground pure, precepts, meditation (samādhi), and wisdom fully possessed, a mind vast and expansive, vows profound and grand, selfless and fearless, without self and without contrivance. The fulfillment of precepts is manifested in the perfect observance of the bodhisattva precepts: the precepts with marks can all be naturally upheld without violation, without the need for the mind consciousness to suppress and control—acting naturally, everything accords with the precept Dharma. With the transformation of the mind-ground, the bodily, verbal, and mental actions are naturally pure, and afterward one naturally transitions to the observance of the signless precepts. The mind is the master of all things; when the mind is pure, everything is pure. Only with a mind-ground that is pure and without afflictions does one have the ability and the qualification to observe the signless precepts. One who has not yet eliminated afflictions cannot uphold the signless precepts, because the mind cannot discipline itself.

In terms of meditative concentration, one must possess dhyāna from the first dhyāna up to the fourth dhyāna, because only with the first dhyāna concentration can the mind-ground be guaranteed to be pure and without afflictions, and only then can profound wisdom arise. Without the first dhyāna concentration, afflictions will inevitably manifest; even the precepts with marks cannot be guaranteed to be unbroken, let alone is there the qualification or ability to uphold the signless precepts, because the mind-ground is impure and afflictions are heavy. In terms of wisdom, both the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have already been transformed into wisdom, possessing profound seeds-of-wisdom of Consciousness-Only, knowing that all dharmas are consciousness alone and nothing else.

A bodhisattva whose mind-ground has successfully accomplished the transformation of the basis can, like the tathāgatagarbha, be both conditioned and unconditioned: when conditioned, without selfishness; when unconditioned, without self. The conditioned and the unconditioned, the selfless and the non-ego, can be perfectly united without contradiction. Because meditative concentration and wisdom are profound, the mind is empty and signless; being signless, it is unconditioned, not craving worldly dharmas. Its mind turns away from the mundane, acting without contrivance—signless, wishless, and without fabrication. Yet its mind can also compassionately pity sentient beings, propagating the Dharma and benefiting beings not for private gain; in order to repay the Buddha's kindness, it vows to continue the lineage of the Buddha, making the Ten Great Endless Vows, inheriting the family enterprise of the Tathāgata, broadly delivering boundless sentient beings, throughout the future, never ceasing.