Can Ordinary Beings Achieve the Transformation of the Basis as Tathāgatagarbha?

The initial success of the transformation of the basis as tathāgatagarbha occurs at the stage of a bodhisattva who has attained the bhūmis; all pre‑bhūmi bodhisattvas (pūrvabhūmika bodhisattva) are striving to transform the basis, learning how to transform it. Ordinary beings, having not realized the tathāgatagarbha, cannot rely upon it—they do not know where the tathāgatagarbha is or what its characteristics are, so how could they rely on it? It is like relying on empty space: the tathāgatagarbha they imagine is not something actually visible, and thus cannot be relied upon.

Moreover, ordinary beings also cannot actively make use of the tathāgatagarbha. Not knowing where the tathāgatagarbha is, what its characteristics are, or what functions it performs, how could they make use of it? Everyone is merely imagining the tathāgatagarbha—this is called conjecture and fantasy, or guessing. Ordinary beings may be allowed to guess, and may even guess seven or eight parts out of ten correctly, but it is of no use: the moment the mind consciousness ceases, everything before them turns pitch black, and they are left bewildered, not knowing what to do.

The mark of success in the transformation of the basis is that the mind's nature has been transformed, becoming similar to the mind-nature of the tathāgatagarbha, with afflictions eliminated and wisdom grown. Before the transformation of the basis has succeeded, one is still changing oneself bit by bit, subduing one's afflictions, and gradually increasing one's wisdom. When this accumulates to a certain degree and reaches a qualitative leap—afflictions eliminated, and the sixth and seventh consciousnesses transformed into wisdom—only then is the transformation of the basis accomplished. Yet even this is only initial; with the complete transformation of the basis, one becomes a Buddha. Therefore, one cannot use whether the transformation of the basis has succeeded as the criterion for judging whether one has seen one's true mind and attained enlightenment. Seeing one's true mind and awakening has its own criteria and content of realization; the transformation of the basis is not among those criteria.

The Buddha's teachings have been thrown into great confusion, and the reason for the confusion is that many people have never walked that path; they rely entirely on understanding, inference, and guesswork. Even if their guesses are eight or nine parts out of ten close to the truth, they are still quite inaccurate, because after all they have not seen it with their own eyes, and their minds certainly cannot rest at ease. A tiger drawn by copying a cat, after all, is not a tiger.