Does the Mind Arise First or Do Dharmas Arise First? Does the Mind Cease First or Do Dharmas Cease First (III)

So how are the mind-dharmas, the seven consciousnesses, produced? First of all, the manas has existed since beginningless kalpas and has never ceased to exist. It is the tathāgatagarbha that transmits consciousness seeds to Him, upholding the existence and functioning of the manas. Without the tathāgatagarbha, there would be no existence of the manas. The manas carries the afflictions habituated over lifetime after lifetime into the present life and into future lives, so the ignorance concealed within the manas is extremely deep and heavy, and its defilement by afflictions is extremely severe. Only when one cultivates to the fourth fruit can the manas's grasping be eradicated, extinguishing the attachment to the three realms; then one has the ability to extinguish all dharmas of the five-aggregate world and enter nirvāṇa without remainder. Therefore, the manas is something that can be extinguished; He is impermanent and illusory, not a real and unchanging self.

The manas is also a conscious mind. Its consciousness seeds exist within the tathāgatagarbha; when the tathāgatagarbha outputs the manas's consciousness seeds, the manas becomes manifest and functions. The six consciousnesses, however, are born later, newly generated by the tathāgatagarbha in the physical body of each and every life. Only when the tathāgatagarbha outputs the seeds of the six consciousnesses can the six consciousnesses become manifest and perform the function of discrimination. Because the six consciousnesses arise later, the habituation they receive is slight, and they are easy to eradicate. The six consciousnesses are conditioned by sense objects and influenced by the manas; upon encountering good they become good, upon encountering evil they become evil, and they easily turn along with conditions. Therefore, it is the six consciousnesses that are easily transformed through cultivation; after they have been transformed, they in turn influence and condition the manas, causing the manas also to transform, and then our cultivation succeeds.

Returning to the original question: does the mind cease first, or do dharmas cease first? Does the mind arise first, or do dharmas arise first? From the analysis above, all dharmas are born from the tathāgatagarbha, and the tathāgatagarbha itself is unborn; the seven consciousnesses are born through the tathāgatagarbha transmitting consciousness seeds to them, and then the eight consciousness-kings, in conjunction with the mental factors (caittas) of the eight consciousnesses, produce material form. So the matter is already quite clear: without the eight consciousness-minds there would be no material form and no realm-dharmas; it is when the mind arises that the various dharmas arise.

Then, in ceasing, which ceases first? The tathāgatagarbha does not cease, so the realm cannot cease first. If the realm ceased first while the seven consciousnesses still existed, then who would know that the realm no longer exists? If there were no realm, the six consciousnesses could not exist and could not perform the function of discrimination; even if they existed, it would be meaningless. Why could they not exist? Because the six consciousnesses arise only after the six sense faculties contact the six sense objects and the tathāgatagarbha can then give rise to the six consciousnesses. Without a realm, there is no contact; without contact, there is no arising of the six consciousnesses.

Therefore, it is not that dharmas cease first and the mind ceases afterward, but rather that the mind ceases first and dharmas cease afterward. For example, yesterday you quarreled with someone, and now your mind is still dwelling on it and feeling upset. The quarrel is already over—so why does this matter still remain in the mind? It is precisely because the mind has not ceased. If the mind had ceased and you did not care, you would not think about this matter. Or if one cultivates to the point where there is no mind to discriminate and give rise to afflictions, then at the very moment of the quarrel, the mind would not care, and the quarrel could not even happen. Without mind, no realm arises.

From the perspective of the manas: if one cultivates until the manas's tendency toward grasping ceases, so that it no longer grasps at the mental sense-objects upon the five sense objects, the six consciousnesses will not discern the realm-dharmas—that is a state of being without mind. The eye sees forms as if it had not seen them; the ear hears sounds as if it had not heard them; the realm seems not to exist and can no longer exert any influence. If the manas were extinguished, the six faculties, six objects, and six consciousnesses would all be extinguished and nothing would remain—then where would the realm be? So, to sum it all up: when the mind ceases, the various dharmas cease.

When the mind arises, the various dharmas arise; when the mind ceases, the various dharmas cease. Cultivation is precisely cultivating the mind; when the mind changes, everything changes.