Empty Mind, Free from Illness, Returning with Success

The seventh and sixth consciousnesses are formless and without marks, and the dreams they dream are also formless and without marks; so why, within the dream, can one see people, things, and events that have form and marks? How can a formless, markless dream carry and bear people, things, and events that have form and marks? The formless-markless and the formed-marked should be incompatible with each other; since they are incompatible, how can people, things, and events with form and marks appear within the dream?

By the same reasoning, the tathāgatagarbha is formless and without marks, the seeds of the seven great elements are formless and without marks, and karmic seeds are formless and without marks—so how could all the dharmas that are born be things with form and marks? All dharmas do not fall outside the tathāgatagarbha; how can the formless, markless tathāgatagarbha carry and bear all dharmas that have form and marks? How can the formless, markless tathāgatagarbha be compatible with all dharmas that have form and marks? Therefore it is said: of all dharma-marks, those that fall into the eyes become an eye-film, those that fall into the ears become an ailment, those that fall into the nose become an ailment, those that fall into the tongue become an ailment, those that fall into the body become the ailment of an eye-film, and those that fall into the mind become an ailment. Only when the seven consciousnesses are diseased do they perceive dharmas; if the seven consciousnesses were free of disease, where would all dharmas be? Therefore it is said: cultivation is precisely the removal of this eye-film and ailment—abandoning marks and eliminating grasping. Only when the mind is empty can the illness be cured; with the mind empty, one returns home triumphant.

Whenever you become attached to dharma-marks, you must alert yourself: this is what the diseased eye-film sees—I have an eye-film ailment, and I should remove this eye-film ailment. If you proceed in this way, sooner or later one day the eye-film ailment will be removed, and you will return to a normal state, no longer attached to marks. It turns out that none of us are normal people; what we took to be normal is in fact not normal—thus it is called normal. The normality after returning to normal is also not normal—thus it is called normal. The liberation after normality is not liberation—thus it is called liberation. The path of cultivation is just like this; what is not like this is not cultivation—thus it is called cultivation, a false cultivation.

Do not think that studying Buddhism and cultivating the path means gaining something; rather, it means removing something—the exact opposite of your former understanding. Whether you wish to gain the Dharma, gain fruition, gain honor, gain the great thousand worlds, gain a wonderful life, or gain superb direct and circumstantial retributions—no matter what you wish to gain, it is all deluded fantasy. You should extinguish all conceptions and empty away every conception.