Do Not Mistake the Deluded Mind for Suchness

The causal ground refers to the stage when one has not yet attained Buddhahood and is still in the bodhisattva stages, while the fruition ground is the attained stage of Buddhahood. The mind realized by sentient beings in the causal ground at the bodhisattva stage should be the same as the perfectly enlightened mind at the Buddha ground, not two separate minds. Otherwise, the causal mind could not reach the Buddha ground; that would be a deluded mind subject to birth and cessation, not the true mind, the Tathagatagarbha. The mind realized by a bodhisattva upon enlightenment should be the true mind, unborn and unceasing, not the deluded seven consciousnesses that are subject to birth and cessation. When enlightening to the mind and realizing the Way, one must realize the truth correctly; if one realizes incorrectly, one cannot attain Buddhahood.

Many people, upon occasionally experiencing the absence of wandering thoughts in their conscious mind, immediately assume that this is the originally pure self-nature, the Tathagatagarbha. This misunderstanding is grave. If one mistakes a thief for one's own child in this way, one will rob oneself of the family treasure, ultimately becoming utterly destitute, caught in inverted rebirth, and failing to attain liberation. Not only will one fail to obtain genuine benefit, but Buddhahood will be entirely out of the question.

The true substance of Buddhahood is the self-nature, the Tathagatagarbha. This mind remains undestroyed all the way to the Buddha ground. The deluded mind cannot remain unchanged and unceasing all the way to the Buddha ground; it possesses no true merit whatsoever, as all its functions are merely endowments from the Tathagatagarbha. The mind realized during the bodhisattva stages should be the originally pure, thought-free self-nature, the Tathagatagarbha. One should not strive through cultivation to forcibly suppress the arising of wandering thoughts and then mistake this suppressed mind for the True Suchness. This counterfeit True Suchness is not the True Suchness of the Buddha ground, which is endowed with eternity, bliss, self, and purity. One must not mistake this thief for one's true child; otherwise, one cannot attain Buddhahood.