Tathāgatagarbha: Neither Self nor Non-Self

The Tathāgatagarbha is neither self nor non-self; it is both self and not self—this principle is profoundly profound. Prior to Buddhahood, the Tathāgatagarbha contains the defiled seeds of the seven vijñānas and inevitably gives rise to defiled karma according to the conditions of these seeds. Consequently, the pure virtues of the Tathāgatagarbha are obscured, preventing the complete manifestation of its inherent capabilities and radiance. At this stage, the Tathāgatagarbha is not characterized by permanence, bliss, self, and purity, and cannot display its full intrinsic luminosity. Only the Tathāgatagarbha at the stage of Buddhahood, which is free from the obscurations of the seven defiled vijñānas and fully manifests its inherent radiance, is the true self—the immutable self, the self unaffected and unobscured. For example, when the seven vijñānas of sentient beings carry the karma of the three evil realms, the Tathāgatagarbha inevitably manifests the three evil realms according to conditions. At such times, it cannot manifest the dignified appearance of a Tathāgata or the pure Buddha-lands; its functions are obstructed, and its self-nature cannot be expressed.

The five aggregates are suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. All dharmas produced by the Tathāgatagarbha are subject to birth, cessation, and change; they are impermanent, cannot be grasped, and indeed cannot be grasped at all. However, the Tathāgatagarbha of sentient beings is not characterized by suffering, emptiness, impermanence, or change. Within it, there is no notion of self; it does not recognize the existence of a self and lacks the self-nature that exercises mastery. Yet, its essence contains defiled karmic seeds that undergo birth, cessation, and change, causing the Tathāgatagarbha to be neither permanent, nor blissful, nor self, nor pure. Only when the defiled karmic seeds are extinguished within the stainless vijñāna (amalavijñāna) of the Tathāgatagarbha at the stage of Buddhahood, and the seeds no longer undergo birth, cessation, or change, does the true self-nature emerge. Only then is it the true self.