Severing Self-View Leads to Realization of Tathagatagarbha

Before realizing the Tathagatagarbha, the stages of warmth, summit, patience, and the supreme worldly dharma will first manifest. The stages of warmth, summit, patience, and the supreme worldly dharma refer to the process wherein, through investigating the Tathagatagarbha or studying the principle of the non-self of the five aggregates in the Āgama scriptures, one gradually negates the notion that the five aggregates constitute the self within the mind. Wisdom gradually becomes clear and lucid, ultimately leading to complete acceptance that the five aggregates are neither the self nor different from the self. This severs the view of self, transcends ordinary worldlings, and establishes one as the foremost person in the world.

Only after completely negating the five aggregates, negating the seven consciousnesses as the self, and negating the six sense bases, six sense objects, and six sense consciousnesses, can one realize the true self and thereby awaken to the enlightened mind. As the ancient Chan patriarchs said: "Only when the five aggregates are struck dead are you allowed the Dharma body to live." This precisely means that only by first negating the reality of the five aggregates and severing the view of self that takes the five aggregates as the self, can the pure and true Dharma body vividly manifest within the mind. One immediately recognizes this as the self-nature, this as the Tathagatagarbha, this as the Dharma body. After this transition—one dies and the other comes to life—the foundation for Buddhahood is established.

Although the interval between them may be extremely brief, even occurring in the very moment of negating the five aggregates when one finds the Tathagatagarbha, this still happens after severing the view of self. While it is commonly said that the view of self is severed at the time of awakening to the mind or afterward, in reality, without negating the five aggregates and the seven consciousnesses, one cannot realize the Tathagarbha. This is because the obscuration of the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses veils the manifestation of the Tathagatagarbha; they are mixed and indistinguishable, temporarily preventing the discernment of truth from falsehood.

Once the view of self is severed and the false is negated, the true leaps forth, and one attains realization of the Tathagatagarbha. If the false five aggregates are not negated, the eye of wisdom cannot arise, making it impossible to recognize the Tathagatagarbha. One must continue investigating until the view of self is eradicated, after which one can discover the Tathagatagarbha that does not belong to the five aggregates or the eighteen realms. This may occur in an instant.