Diverse Minds, Diverse Manifestations

When a Hu comes, a Hu manifests; when a Han comes, a Han manifests. The Tathāgatagarbha is like a mirror: whoever comes before it is reflected, and all phenomena are like images in a mirror, manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha just as a mirror reflects images. The great earth, mountains, and rivers are like images in a mirror; forms, sounds, scents, tastes, tangible objects, and mental phenomena are like images in a mirror. There is nothing outside the mirror, and there is not a single dharma outside the mind. However, as the minds of sentient beings differ, the images they perceive also differ. Therefore, when a single image appears, individuals with different minds will develop divergent viewpoints, opinions, and perspectives, leading to mutual disputes and conflicts, resulting in a world lacking peace.

In the past, three people went to India to pay homage to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Upon entering a stone cave, the three faced the same statue of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Due to differences in their cultivation and spiritual attainment, the images they perceived varied: one saw the Bodhisattva in monastic robes, one saw the Bodhisattva in lay attire, and one saw the Bodhisattva wearing a crown; moreover, the bodily colors they perceived also differed greatly. While the objective aspect was identical for all, the subjective aspects each person perceived varied, which demonstrates the differing mental states of their minds.

Similarly, a single river appears as water to humans, as lapis lazuli to heavenly beings, and as flames to hungry ghosts. Differences in merit and virtue result in different manifestations. It is evident that these images are transformations of consciousness-only, produced by the combined functioning of the eight consciousnesses. Sentient beings cultivate their minds; when the mind becomes purified, the land of the Sahā world will turn into a golden ground, indistinguishable from the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. It is the mind that becomes a Buddha; it is the mind that becomes a hungry ghost. When the mind is perfectly purified, is there still need to seek rebirth in the Western Pure Land or the Eastern Pure Land? The deluded cultivate outward appearances, not the mind; even after cultivating for countless kalpas, they fail to perceive the auspicious marks.