How Can One Attain Thorough Enlightenment?

The tathāgatagarbha pervades the eighteen dhātus, and the eighteen dhātus are the six faculties, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses. That means finding the tathāgatagarbha in the functioning of the six faculties, finding the tathāgatagarbha in the manifestation of the six sense objects, and finding the tathāgatagarbha in the activity of the six consciousnesses. This is what is called "the conditions for birth are everywhere." The activity of the six consciousnesses includes the activities of the four aggregates of feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness; that is, the tathāgatagarbha manifests in the material form of the five material faculties, in form, sound, smell, taste, and touch, and in the material form included in the dharma base, and the tathāgatagarbha manifests in the mental dharmas of the six consciousnesses. Before this, one must contemplate the illusoriness of material form and contemplate the illusoriness of mental dharmas; then one can realize that the five aggregates are not the self and attain the eradication of the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa). Afterward, when one engages in Chan investigation, it will be easy to attain enlightenment.

If one wishes to attain a thorough enlightenment, one must find the operation of the tathāgatagarbha in every single dharma of the eighteen dhātus, without omitting any dharma; in this way one's wisdom will become very deep and keen. In the desire realm, all dharmas are the functioning of the six consciousnesses; where there is consciousness, there are all dharmas. Therefore one must thoroughly understand the nature and functions of the six consciousnesses; then, when one comes to awaken, the awakening can be thorough—this is called "great enlightenment in an unbroken expanse," rather than merely awakening to a small fragment. If one only awakens to a fragment, one's wisdom is very shallow, and one cannot observe the operation of the tathāgatagarbha.

Therefore, in learning Buddhism, one must first lay a solid foundation in the Hīnayāna teachings, with a thick groundwork; only then can one smoothly investigate the Mahāyāna dharma, easily attain enlightenment, easily attain a thorough awakening, and gain relatively deep wisdom.