Why Are Buddhas and Bodhisattvas Untainted by Evil Defilements?

When sentient beings encounter adverse conditions while living in the world and become defiled, thereby manifesting afflictions, it indicates that their mental faculty of volition (manas) is still aligned with afflictions and has not yet eradicated them. Thus, they become defiled upon encountering conditions and manifest unwholesome karma upon encountering conditions. The Buddhas, through cultivation spanning three asamkhyeya kalpas, have long since completely eradicated all afflictions and defilements such as greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, doubt, and wrong views, along with all habitual tendencies of afflictions, leaving no residual habits. When they come to the evil world of five impurities and interact with afflicted sentient beings, they are not defiled or contaminated in the slightest by the afflictions of sentient beings; their minds remain forever pure and undefiled. This is because the Buddha eradicated afflictions at the first ground (bhūmi), and the mind was no longer defiled at that stage, though residual habitual tendencies of afflictions still remained uneradicated at that time.

The afflictions that the Buddhas began to eradicate before the first ground are those eradicated in both the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. Because the seventh consciousness (manas) eradicates afflictions, it can transform consciousness into wisdom, attaining the wisdom of equality (samatā-jñāna), perceiving all phenomena as equal and non-dual, without distinction between self and others. Thus, there is no self-centeredness, and they treat people and matters equally. Because the seventh consciousness, the mental faculty of volition, has eradicated afflictions, no matter where they are reborn in future lives, the mental faculty of volition remains free from afflictions and is not subject to defilement. However, when the habitual tendencies of afflictions have not yet been eradicated, these tendencies may occasionally manifest; this is unavoidable. The sixth consciousness (mental consciousness) may also occasionally be defiled by the environment. Although the sixth consciousness may become defiled and manifest some afflictions, they are quickly eliminated, neither persistent nor firm, and do not defile or affect the mental faculty of volition.

Because the mental faculty of volition is not defiled and itself has no afflictions, the afflictions of the sixth consciousness are easy to eradicate. Otherwise, if the sixth consciousness were influenced by the mental faculty of volition, afflictions would not be easy to eradicate, and even if eradicated, they would arise again. Bodhisattvas at the eighth ground and above will no longer have their sixth consciousness defiled; they will not manifest habitual tendencies of afflictions. The Buddhas’ sixth consciousness is even more free from the slightest defilement or contamination; neither afflictions nor their habitual tendencies appear. They see forms without greed, see wealth without attachment, do not seek power or status, are free from hatred and anger, undisturbed and unagitated, with minds that are gentle, harmonious, tranquil, and utterly serene. In contrast, ordinary sentient beings’ sixth and seventh consciousnesses are fully endowed with all afflictions; they become defiled upon encountering conditions, often yielding to their environment with little resistance. When seeing forms, they crave; when seeing wealth, they covet; they desire power, pursue fame and gain; when adverse conditions arise, hatred and anger constantly accompany their minds; self-centeredness and egoism are extremely heavy.

Thus it can be seen that the mental faculty of volition of ordinary sentient beings is fully endowed with all afflictions—greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, doubt, and wrong views. The sixth consciousness follows the mental faculty of volition, so afflictions also frequently manifest. When encountering defiling conditions, the sixth consciousness is easily defiled. Because the mental faculty of volition connects the past, present, and future lives and is fully endowed with all afflictions, sentient beings continuously revolve in the cycle of birth and death. In the intermediate state (bardo) and upon rebirth in a future life, they are fully endowed with all afflictions, identical to their previous life, with afflictions persisting life after life. However, apart from the afflictions of self-view, self-attachment, self-arrogance, and self-ignorance, which constantly and continuously accompany the operation of the mental faculty of volition without pause, other afflictions do not constantly accompany the operation of the mental faculty of volition. Instead, they manifest when encountering conditions to create unwholesome karma, storing karmic seeds that perpetuate the cycle of birth and death in future lives.