Signs of the Successful Transformation of the Sixth and Seventh Consciousnesses into Tathāgatagarbha

Realizing the tathāgatagarbha is the prerequisite, and successful transformation of the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti) is the result; between the prerequisite and the result lies a long period of time approaching an incalculable kalpa. After enlightenment, one can directly observe the functioning of the tathāgatagarbha within the body of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha); after the wisdom of specific characteristics arises, one's wisdom becomes ever deeper and subtler, 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 attachment to 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 free of self and afflictions.

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

What are the marks of successful transformation of the basis? The marks of success mainly lie in the transformation of the mental disposition: afflictions eliminated, the mind-ground pure, precepts, meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom fully complete, a mind vast and expansive, vows grand and profound, selfless and fearless, without self and without contrivance. The precepts are 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, bodily, verbal, and mental actions are naturally pure, and afterward one naturally transitions to the observance of the markless precepts. The mind is the master of the myriad things; when the mind is pure, everything is pure. Only with a mind-ground that is pure and free of afflictions does one have the ability and qualification to observe the markless precepts. One who has not yet eradicated afflictions cannot uphold the markless precepts, because the mind cannot discipline itself.

In meditative concentration, one must possess dhyāna from the first dhyāna upward, all the way to the fourth dhyāna, because only by possessing the first dhyāna concentration can one guarantee a mind-ground pure and free of afflictions, and only then can profound wisdom arise. Without the first dhyāna concentration, afflictions will necessarily manifest; even the precepts with marks cannot be guaranteed unviolated, let alone is there the qualification and ability to uphold the markless precepts, because the mind-ground is impure and afflictions are heavy. In terms of wisdom, both the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have already transformed consciousness into wisdom, possessing profound seed-wisdom of consciousness-only (yogācāra), knowing that all dharmas are consciousness alone and nothing else.

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