Nature and Marks: Neither One nor Different

Self-nature manifests by relying on the five aggregates (pañca-skandha), the eighteen realms, and the myriad dharmas; when there are no five aggregates, He cannot manifest, and this is called being hidden. This means that apart from the five aggregates and the eighteen realms, no one can find the self-nature tathāgatagarbha—not even the buddhas can find Him. This is the state of the arhat's nirvāṇa without remainder (Anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa): having nothing, being nothing; that state has no joy whatsoever and no meaning whatsoever.

Although self-nature is without form and without mark, it is not a mere designation, not a provisional name; He has a real essence that exists, and that is why it is called the mind of ultimate reality (dharmatā-citta). Thus self-nature can be described this way: when conditions exist, He manifests; when conditions are absent, He is hidden. Nature and mark are neither the same nor different. If they were the same, then when the mark ceases, self-nature would cease; but in reality, when the mark ceases, self-nature does not cease. If they were different, the two would have no relationship. Therefore nature and mark are in a relationship of neither the same nor different.