The Relationship Between Tathāgatagarbha and Memory (III)

All the dharmas we currently obtain and experience are retrieved from the treasury of the Tathagatagarbha. The contents of this treasury are precisely what we ourselves deposited in the past. This means we can only use what we have stored; if we did not store it, it is unavailable. If we wish to attain Buddhahood, we must diligently store wholesome karmic seeds. Only after these seeds are stored can we experience their fruition in the future. If we wish to obtain blessings, we must store seeds cultivated through virtuous actions. Without storing such seeds, it is impossible to obtain blessings. Whatever we wish to attain, we must store its corresponding seed; what we store determines what we receive. Therefore, we must carefully choose our actions of body, speech, and mind, understanding how to act in order to gain the greatest true benefit for ourselves, without harming or contradicting our own interests. We must act cautiously, selectively, and strive to perform only pure karmic actions.

Our five aggregates also originate from the seeds within the treasury of the Tathagatabarbha. Due to the ignorance of the mental faculty (manas), the six consciousnesses continuously generate actions of body, speech, and mind. The seeds of these actions are constantly deposited into the essence of the Tathagatagarbha mind. At the end of life, encountering conditions, the Tathagatagarbha outputs karmic seeds, leading to rebirth within the six realms. This results in the birth of a five-aggregate body to experience karmic retribution. Therefore, the entire five-aggregate body originates from the seeds within the treasury of the Tathagatagarbha. Thus, the entire five aggregates are the Tathagatagarbha.

It is like white clouds in the sky, which can manifest forms such as cats or dogs. Those cloud-formed cats and dogs appear plump and white, very adorable. Some people become attached to the appearance of the cats and dogs, completely forgetting that they are entirely composed of masses of white clouds. The white clouds are analogous to the Tathagatagarbha, while the forms of the cats and dogs are like our five-aggregate bodies. Upon observing the cats and dogs, one discovers that there is not a single part that is not white cloud; every tiny speck is composed of white cloud. The entire cat or dog is entirely white cloud; every aspect originates from the white cloud. Similarly, every aspect of our five aggregates, at all times and in all places, originates from the Tathagatagarbha. Every characteristic and function entirely comes from the treasury of the Tathagatagarbha. All the material constituting the five-aggregate body comes from the treasury. Everything experienced by the five aggregates, everything created by them, entirely originates from the treasury, the Tathagatagarbha.

If one wishes to find the entrance to the treasury of the Tathagatagarbha and attain enlightenment (Buddhahood), it is actually not difficult. Where does the difficulty lie? The difficulty lies in our lack of sufficient merit, lack of sufficient meditative stability (samadhi), lack of sufficient wisdom (prajna), lack of fulfillment of the conditions for the Six Perfections (Paramitas) of a Bodhisattva, and lack of sufficient vow-power (pranidhana). These deficiencies create the obstacle for us. If all these conditions were fulfilled, nothing in the world would be difficult. The difficulty arises precisely because we have not stored enough wholesome karmic seeds. With insufficient seeds, we cannot draw adequate resources from the treasury, making the realization of the mind's nature (ming xin jian xing) appear very difficult, and likewise making it difficult to sever the view of self (sakkaya-ditthi). To experience sufficient resources and blessings, and to realize the inherently pure mind (svabhava-shuddha-chitta), one must store abundant wholesome karmic seeds. Seeds of practice through precepts (shila), meditation (dhyana), and wisdom (prajna); seeds of practice in the Six Perfections of a Bodhisattva; seeds of the great merit of a Bodhisattva, and so forth – we must store more of these. Only when these seeds are sufficient can we attain the fruits of the path, whether of the Great Vehicle (Mahayana) or the Small Vehicle (Hinayana).