How to Perceive Phenomena Beyond Their Appearances

Seeing phenomena while being detached from them does not mean that upon encountering any phenomenon, one leaves no impression in the mind, empties or discards the phenomenon, and thereby achieves a state of mental purity. Rather, it means striving to minimize the interference of worldly phenomena upon one's mind; when the mind remains undisturbed, it naturally becomes pure. This is the method for cultivating meditative concentration. Such purity is a state of no-thought, a meditative state. Non-Buddhist practitioners cultivate this type of concentration, progressing all the way to the state of neither perception nor non-perception; upon death, they ascend to the heavens to enjoy blessings, but when their merit is exhausted, they fall again.

True detachment from phenomena, however, occurs when facing worldly phenomena: the mind clearly knows the essential nature of phenomena, recognizing that phenomena are not what their superficial appearances present to us; their true substance is emptiness. Emptiness here refers to two kinds: one is the emptiness of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self as taught in the Hinayana tradition; the other is the emptiness of the Tathagatagarbha's intrinsic nature. This makes it evident that without attaining the fruits of realization or understanding the mind, one fundamentally cannot detach from phenomena; one can only avoid them. Even if avoidance is possible, it is temporary; in the long run, it is fundamentally impossible to avoid, as one must inevitably face them.

Only after realizing the Tathagatagarbha can the mind gradually detach from phenomena. This is a lengthy process; it cannot be achieved overnight. This process is the process of āśraya-parāvṛtti (turning the basis). Successful āśraya-parāvṛtti transforms consciousness into wisdom, enabling entry into the Tathagata's family and attainment of the all-encompassing wisdom of consciousness-only. To perceive the Tathagatagarbha, one must first comprehend its essential nature, characteristics, functions, and roles. Then, carrying a sense of profound inquiry (doubt), one must seek and realize it within the functioning of the five aggregates and the eighteen dhatus. During the process of Chan investigation, one must naturally know or realize that the functions and roles of the five aggregates and eighteen dhatus are not real, are not the self, and are empty. Only then can one avoid clinging to the phenomena of the five aggregates and eighteen dhatus as being the self or real, and only then can one negate the five aggregates and eighteen dhatus. After negating all false dharmas, one then directs doubt toward the true dharma. Through persistently investigating this doubt, when the conditions of the six paramitas cultivated by a Bodhisattva are fully ripened, realization becomes possible.