Tathāgatagarbha: Neither Coming Nor Going

The Tathagatagarbha pervades all places; it is present wherever the dharmas of the phenomenal world of the five aggregates exist. Wherever there are dharmas of the phenomenal world of the five aggregates, the Tathagatagarbha is necessarily present, sustaining them. If the Tathagatagarbha ceases to sustain a particular dharma, that dharma ceases to exist and disappears.

The Tathagatagarbha is neither born nor extinguished, without form or appearance, neither coming nor going. It has no coming or going aspect within any dharma. However, by observing the arising and ceasing aspects of the dharmas in the phenomenal world of the five aggregates, one can perceive the coming and going aspect of the Tathagatagarbha. When a dharma appears, it indicates that the Tathagatagarbha has come into that dharma; when a dharma ceases, it indicates that the Tathagatagarbha has departed from that dharma. In reality, it is not that the Tathagatagarbha comes and goes within the dharma, but rather that the Tathagatagarbha uses seeds to bring forth the dharma, and upon the dharma, the sustaining function of the Tathagatagarbha is present. When the Tathagatagarbha no longer sustains the dharma and withdraws the seeds, the dharma departs from the Tathagatagarbha and ceases to exist.

Similarly, the Tathagatagarbha has never come into the five aggregates nor departed from them. Rather, the Tathagatagarbha uses seeds to bring forth the five aggregates, and thus the five aggregates cannot be separated from the Tathagatagarbha; they are connected to it. When the Tathagatagarbha withdraws the seeds and ceases to sustain the five aggregates, the five aggregates vanish and perish, becoming separated from the Tathagatagarbha. Throughout this process, the Tathagatagarbha never employs coming or going; it has never moved. It is the phenomenal appearances of the five aggregates that come and go, coming together with and parting from the Tathagatagarbha. Therefore, it is said that the Tathagatagarbha neither comes nor goes; there is no concept of time, space, or distance pertaining to it.