The Eternal Bliss, Self, and Purity Are the Absolute Truth

The Dharmakaya is what the Buddha in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra described as true permanence, true self, true bliss, and true purity; it is not an empty or void nominal concept. All other dharmas are merely appearances and names, the phenomena of the six dusts (objects of sense) discriminated by the conscious mind of sentient beings. The Mirror-like Wisdom and the Undefiled Consciousness at the Buddha stage are the Dharmakaya of the Buddha. The Dharmakaya can manifest all appearances and give rise to all appearances. The Reward Body and the Response/Transformation Body Buddhas are produced by the Dharmakaya Buddha; without the Dharmakaya, nothing exists. The Tathagatagarbha of sentient beings is provisionally called the Dharmakaya, yet this Dharmakaya is still not ultimate, as it contains the defiled seeds of the seven consciousnesses—the seeds of ignorance and karmic actions. These seeds are still subject to birth, cessation, and change. Only when these seeds of ignorance are completely exhausted will the Tathagatagarbha no longer contain seeds with the nature of birth and cessation. At that point, the Tathagatagarbha becomes eternally unchanging, renamed the Undefiled Consciousness or Mirror-like Wisdom. This is the true Dharmakaya, possessing the true merits of permanence, bliss, self, and purity—true permanence, true self, true bliss, and true purity.

The Tathagatagarbha at the Buddha stage is truly permanent; it neither ceases nor possesses impermanence. Impermanence is not permanence, and permanence is not impermanence; these two natures cannot coexist simultaneously—only one can exist. It is like death not being life, and life not being death; the two cannot coexist, as simultaneous existence is illogical. The permanence at the Buddha stage is absolute; it does not derive from any thing, nor does it rely on impermanent phenomena to manifest or contrast its eternal nature. The nature of permanence exists naturally and inherently; there is no reasoning to explain it. Worldly logic and inference are entirely inapplicable here, nor can it be comprehended through emotional or intellectual understanding.

Sentient beings always like to use reasoning, analysis, and comparison, employing various mental activities to contemplate the Dharma. True permanence, bliss, self, and purity are absolute truths; they transcend thought, transcend analysis, transcend relativity, and transcend emotional, intellectual, or conceptual understanding. True permanence, bliss, self, and purity are not worldly phenomena; they cannot be verified as truly existing through worldly logical reasoning or comparison. Worldly nihilistic views cannot be contrasted with true permanence; worldly suffering cannot be contrasted with true bliss; the worldly five aggregates cannot be contrasted with the true self; worldly impurity cannot be contrasted with true purity. Such contrasting is mere speculative talk, devoid of true meaning. True permanence, bliss, self, and purity are real, eternal, and unchanging.