The Pariniṣpanna-svabhāva of the Tathāgatagarbha

The original text of the Surangama Sutra: Good man, all obstacles are ultimate enlightenment. Gaining and losing mindfulness are none other than liberation. Establishing and destroying dharmas are both called Nirvana. Wisdom and foolishness are both Prajna. The dharmas accomplished by Bodhisattvas and those accomplished by non-Buddhists are equally Bodhi. Ignorance and Suchness are not different realms. All precepts, meditative concentration, wisdom, as well as lust, anger, and delusion, are all pure conduct (Brahmacarya).

Explanation: Good man, all karmic forces and obstacles, all afflictions, are the ultimate enlightened nature. Ultimate enlightenment refers to the self-nature enlightenment, the Tathagatagarbha. Why is this said? Because all afflictions and hindrances are born from, sustained by, and perfectly accomplished by the Tathagatagarbha. Without the Tathagatagarbha, there would be none of these obstacles. Gaining mindfulness and losing mindfulness are none other than liberation, because both are born from and manifested by the Tathagatagarbha; they are perfectly accomplished by the Tathagatagarbha. Without the Tathagatagarbha, there would be no such dharmic phenomena as gaining and losing mindfulness. Establishing dharmas and destroying dharmas are both pure Nirvana, because both are born from, sustained by, and perfectly accomplished by the Tathagatagarbha. Therefore, both are the pure conduct and pure nature of Nirvana; both are the nature of the Tathagatagarbha.

Wisdom and foolishness are both Prajna, because both are born from and manifested by the Tathagatagarbha; both are perfectly accomplished by the Tathagatagarbha; both are the nature of the Tathagatagarbha. The wholesome dharmas and pure dharmas accomplished through the practice of Bodhisattvas, and the unwholesome dharmas accomplished through the practice of non-Buddhists, are equally Bodhi, because both are born from, sustained by, and perfectly accomplished by the Tathagatagarbha; both are the nature of the Tathagatagarbha. Ignorance and Suchness are realms without difference, because both are manifested by the Tathagatagarbha. Ignorance is Suchness; while in the realm of ignorance, ignorance in its entirety is still the nature of Suchness. All pure conduct of precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom, and the conduct of greed, anger, and delusion, are equally pure conduct (Brahmacarya), because both are born from and sustained by the pure Tathagatagarbha; both are perfectly accomplished by the Tathagatagarbha; both are the pure Nirvana nature of the Tathagatagarbha.

Original text: Sentient beings and lands are of the same Dharma-nature. Hell and the heavenly palace are both pure lands. Those with Buddha-nature and those without Buddha-nature equally accomplish the Buddha Way. All afflictions are ultimately liberation. The ocean-like wisdom of the Dharma-realm illuminates all phenomena like empty space. This is called the Tathagata's compliance with the enlightened nature.

Explanation: Sentient beings and insentient lands are of the same Dharma-nature; both are the nature of the Tathagatagarbha Dharma. The combined body of the form and mind dharmas of sentient beings is accomplished by the Tathagatagarbha using the seven great seeds. Lands are form dharmas, accomplished by the Tathagatagarbha using the five great seeds. Both are accomplished by the perfectly accomplished reality-nature of the Tathagatagarbha. Hell and the heavenly palace are both pure lands; both are born from and transformed by the Tathagatagarbha; both are perfectly accomplished by the Tathagatagarbha; both are objects within the pure mind of the Tathagatagarbha; both are within the pure land of the Tathagatagarbha. Those with Buddha-nature and those without Buddha-nature will together accomplish the Buddha Way, because those with and without Buddha-nature are fundamentally all Tathagata Buddhas; all are born from and manifested by the Tathagatagarbha; all are perfectly accomplished by the Tathagatagarbha. All afflictions are ultimately liberation, because all afflictions are born from, sustained by, and perfectly accomplished by the Tathagatagarbha; all are the nature of the Tathagatagarbha. And since the Tathagatagarbha is fundamentally liberated, therefore all afflictions are ultimately liberated.

The immeasurable, ocean-like wisdom of the One True Dharma Realm, after illuminating all dharmas, renders them like empty space—utterly ungraspable, completely void. Because the ocean-like wisdom of the Tathagatagarbha does not harbor worldly dharmic appearances; relative to the Tathagatagarbha, worldly dharmas are like empty space. Therefore, the Tathagatagarbha, from the stage of ordinary beings to Buddhahood, is eternally pure and undefiled, without ignorance or afflictions. This is the Tathagata's compliance with the enlightened nature, which Bodhisattvas and ordinary beings cannot realize; they can only understand and contemplate it conceptually. While it may seem not too difficult to understand when there is something to rely upon, actual realization requires three great asamkhyeya kalpas.

The above describes the perfectly accomplished reality-nature (parinispanna-svabhava) of the Tathagatagarbha, the nature that perfectly accomplishes all dharmas.