Commentary on the Sutra of the Compendium of Father and Son (XL)

The Fire Element Originates from the Tathagatagarbha

In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the Buddha states that fire originates from the Tathāgatagarbha and is the nature of the Tathāgatagarbha. Yet within the Tathāgatagarbha, there is nothing—no form, no appearance, no solidity, no heat, no water nature, no flowing motion. It does not possess even a speck of dust-sized material form. Nevertheless, it can manifest the ten directions and the three thousand great thousand worlds—this is utterly inconceivable. Therefore, when one fully masters the Buddha Dharma, comprehending the true reality of all Dharma realms without any delusion or inversion, one will perfectly accomplish the Buddha Way.