Does the True Mind Need to Be Guarded?

The Fifth Patriarch said: "Abiding in the fundamental true mind naturally prevents the arising of deluded thoughts." The Fifth Patriarch meant for us to recognize the inherently pure mind of self-nature as the true mind that neither arises nor ceases. We should not mistake the illusory body of the five aggregates as the self, nor should we mistake the arising-and-ceasing deluded mind as the self. Only by accomplishing this can one become a true person who has realized the mind and awakened to the Way, thereby avoiding the cycle of birth and death.

After realizing the true mind, there is no need to guard or watch over it, because regardless of whether you guard it or not, the true mind continues to function. It does not run away, it is not lost, nor does it perish—so why guard it? As long as our conscious mind relies upon the nature of the true mind, the Tathagatagarbha, and transforms itself, the mind will gradually become increasingly pure. It is not about watching over or grasping it. This "abiding" means relying upon and recognizing it—taking it as true, thereby ceasing all outward craving. Our six consciousness minds, along with bodily, verbal, and mental actions, should operate by relying upon the pure nature of the Tathagatagarbha. Relying upon the pure nature of the Tathagatagarbha also requires purifying one's own deluded mind—the seventh consciousness. This too is a form of "abiding."

After awakening, there is no need to constantly watch over the true mind or cling to it, as doing so only increases bondage and strengthens attachment. Once the mind no longer clings to the true mind nor to the dharmas of the three realms, one can reach the prison barrier and then transcend the barrier of birth and death. Some say that after enlightenment, one needs to "preserve and maintain" (baoren). What requires preserving is the conscious mind—preserving the conscious mind to prevent the arising of deluded thoughts. They believe that if deluded thoughts arise, it is no longer the true mind, and thus one must strive to remain thoughtless for as long as possible, considering this to be "abiding in the true mind." In reality, what they are guarding is the deluded conscious mind. The true mind itself requires no guarding; it is inherently as it is—it does not run away, is not lost, does not change, and certainly does not vanish. What does require guarding is this: before realizing the mind, knowing the true mind as the true self and recognizing it as the self-nature; after realizing the mind, one should rely upon the nature of the true mind to transform one's mental conduct, subdue afflictions such as greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, and so forth, so that the mind becomes pure, free from selfish thoughts and arrogance. This is the way to abide.