The Gap Between Realizing the Tathāgatagarbha and Successfully Transforming the Basis as Tathāgatagarbha

Realizing the tathāgatagarbha is the prerequisite, and the accomplishment of the transformation of the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti) is the result; between the prerequisite and the result lies a long span of time approaching an incalculable kalpa. After awakening, one can directly observe the functioning of the tathāgatagarbha within the body of the five aggregates (pañcaskandha); once the wisdom of specific characteristics arises, one's wisdom becomes ever deeper and subtler, and one's observation of the tathāgatagarbha becomes ever more meticulous and penetrating. In this observation, one will discover that the five aggregates are increasingly unreal, and one's grasping at the body of the five aggregates grows ever lighter and fainter; at the same time, one can also observe the pure and unconditioned nature of the tathāgatagarbha in its functioning, as well as its conditioned nature that is without self and without afflictions.

Whether it is the pure and unconditioned nature of the tathāgatagarbha, or its conditioned nature free of afflictions, both are supremely noble and pure excellent qualities. The sixth and seventh consciousnesses will imperceptibly be influenced and nurtured by them, and the mind's nature will unknowingly undergo change, increasingly inclining toward the mind-nature of the tathāgatagarbha—this is what is called the transformation of the basis as tathāgatagarbha. Although one is relying on the tathāgatagarbha to transform one's own mind-nature, one has not yet gone from quantitative change to qualitative change; the accumulation of quantity is still insufficient to change one's mind-nature essentially and actually, so the reliance on the tathāgatagarbha is not yet successful.

What are the marks of success in the transformation of the basis? The marks of success lie mainly in the transformation of the mind-nature: afflictions eliminated, the mind-ground pure, precepts, meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom fully possessed, a mind vast and expansive, vows profound and grand, selfless and fearless, without self and without contrivance. The precepts are manifested in the perfect observance of the bodhisattva precepts: the precepts with marks can all be naturally upheld without violation—not suppressed or controlled by the mind consciousness, but naturally conforming to the Dharma of the precepts. With the transformation of the mind-ground, the bodily, verbal, and mental actions are naturally pure, and afterward one naturally transitions to the observance of the signless precepts. The mind is the master of all things; when the mind is pure, everything is pure. Only when the mind-ground is pure and without afflictions does one have the ability and qualification to observe the signless precepts. One who has not yet eliminated afflictions cannot uphold the signless precepts, because the mind cannot discipline itself.

As for meditative concentration, one must possess dhyāna from the first dhyāna up to the fourth dhyāna, for only by possessing first-dhyāna concentration can the mind-ground be guaranteed to be pure and free of afflictions, and can profound wisdom arise. Without first-dhyāna concentration, afflictions will inevitably manifest; even the precepts with marks cannot be guaranteed unviolated, let alone is there the qualification or ability to uphold the signless precepts, because the mind-ground is impure and afflictions are heavy. In terms of wisdom, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have both been transformed into wisdom, possessing profound seed-wisdom of Consciousness-Only (唯识种智), knowing that all dharmas are consciousness alone and nothing else.

A bodhisattva whose mind-ground has successfully accomplished the transformation of the basis can, like the tathāgatagarbha, be both conditioned and unconditioned: when conditioned, without selfishness; when unconditioned, without self. The conditioned and the unconditioned, selflessness and non-selfishness, can be perfectly united without contradiction. Because meditative concentration and wisdom are profound, the mind is empty and signless; being signless, it is unconditioned, not craving worldly dharmas. The mind turns away from the worldly, acting without contrivance—signless, without wish, without action. Yet the mind can also compassionately pity sentient beings, propagating the Dharma and benefiting beings not for private gain, but to repay the Buddha's kindness, vowing to continue the lineage of the Buddha, making the Ten Great Endless Vows, inheriting the family enterprise of the Tathāgata, broadly delivering boundless sentient beings, throughout the future, never ceasing.