How to Realize Tathāgatagarbha

Verifying the Tathāgatagarbha is much like searching for a person; there is little difference between the two. Suppose we wish to find a person. After deliberation, we finally determine that this person is at a specific location in a certain area and feel very certain about it, yet we have not personally seen this person. Does this count as having found the person? As long as we have not seen this person or truly encountered them face to face, it does not count as having seen them. Even if we are utterly convinced that they are at that very place, if we have not met them, it does not constitute having seen them. This is because we do not know their appearance, what they are truly doing at this moment, how they are doing it, what their state of mind is like, or what their cultivation and conduct are like. We have no understanding or knowledge of this person, nor do we know whether the person at that location is the one we are seeking, or even if there is indeed such a person there. Not seeing with one's own eyes cannot be taken as real; what is guessed or imagined in the mind cannot be considered genuine seeing.

No matter how certain you are in your heart that the person is at that location, in that very room, and even if that person is indeed in the room, as long as you have not seen them with your own eyes, it does not count as having seen that person. Once you actually find that person, you will see with your own eyes what they are doing and how they are doing it. This is called seeing with one's own eyes. No matter how much you believe that person is in the room, if you do not know what exactly they are doing at that moment or how they are doing it, no wisdom whatsoever will arise. Guessing what that person is specifically doing in the room or how they are doing it—even if the guess is correct—does not constitute a wisdom-based witness.

For example, suppose your leader tells you to find Mr. A and see what he is doing. You roughly know that Mr. A is far away, and going to find him would be arduous. You go out and circle around but don't feel like going all the way. However, you must complete the task assigned by the leader, so you inquire everywhere. Finally, you learn that Mr. A is on the 11th floor of a certain place, and you roughly guess that he might be sleeping. You then return and tell the leader that Mr. A is on the 11th floor, and as for what he's doing, it’s probably just his usual routine; nothing unusual is happening.

Does this count as having found Mr. A? This is speculation, guessing what Mr. A is doing. Even if the guess is correct, and the inquiry was accurate, and Mr. A is indeed doing that, it still is not seeing with one's own eyes. Only by personally seeing Mr. A can you observe him face to face, continuously give rise to the wisdom to recognize and discern him, and learn from him. What is imagined or guessed will never give rise to such wisdom. Many people have "awakened" for many years yet remain stuck in the same place, with their wisdom not increasing at all. Why is this? Because it was not personally verified; it was understood intellectually. Consider this: when you are hungry, if you don't bring the rice before you and eat it into your stomach, but instead imagine a bowl of rice in front of you, what can you accomplish next? Can you pick up the bowl, eat the rice, and fill your stomach this way? Of course not. So you remain hungry.

Many people speculate about the cultivation and realization state of the Eighth Ground Bodhisattva, and some may even guess correctly. But no matter how accurate or true-to-reality the guess is, it is not personally attained, and they still remain ordinary beings. The Goldbach Conjecture is applied far too commonly and deeply in the Buddha Dharma. Why do these phenomena occur? Because the actual realization of the Buddha Dharma is extremely, extremely difficult, forcing people to resort to such inferior methods.

After truly realizing the Tathāgatagarbha, can one still regress? For example, suppose I tell you that Mr. A is in the room. At that moment, you believe it very much, are very certain, very convinced. But since you did not see it with your own eyes, what will you do afterward? You will surely become unbelieving, uncertain, and doubts will arise in your mind. But what you have personally proven through immense hardship, what you have seen with your own eyes, will not give rise to doubt or regression. Seeing is believing; hearing is not. What others tell you, no matter how much you believe it, is not a fact for yourself. If you have never personally seen an apple or tasted one with your own mouth, no matter how others describe it, or how much you imagine or understand it, it is useless. You still won’t know the true nature of the apple, nor can you absorb its nutrients.

Therefore, if I were to hold a grand assembly of ten thousand people and explain the functioning of the Tathāgatagarbha in extremely detailed and concrete terms, enabling the masses to believe in and accept the Tathāgatagarbha Dharma Door, while also understanding and comprehending the specific functioning of the Tathāgatagarbha, then many people would excitedly say: "I am awakened! So this is how the Tathāgatagarbha functions! This is the Tathāgatagarbha!" Then, how should I respond to so many people claiming to be awakened? Should I verify that what they say is correct and issue them awakening certificates or something similar? This so-called "clarifying the mind" is not seeing the functioning of the Tathāgatagarbha with one's own eyes. It is all based on what I said, followed by conjecture and imagination, making them feel they have indeed realized the Tathāgatagarbha. So what will happen to these people afterward? What will happen after they die?

The idea that there can still be regression after so-called "clarifying the mind and seeing the true nature" indicates that there was no true clarifying of the mind and seeing the true nature. Without undergoing the process of investigation, it was merely heard, guessed, and analyzed. Naturally, it's possible to stop believing in such conjecture and analysis, and then regression occurs. Things obtained without undergoing a process of diligent cultivation are like viewing flowers through mist—unclear and easily dismissed. Conjuring up a Tathāgatagarbha through guesswork cannot lead to truly taking the Tathāgatagarbha as the basis (转依), nor will any subsequent meritorious benefits arise.

For example, I was thirsty just now and peeled an apple to eat. If any of you had found me and watched me face to face as I peeled and ate the apple, you would learn by observing, knowing how to peel an apple and how to eat it. Then, seeing me leave the peel for the mice to eat after peeling the apple, you would understand my compassionate mind and learn to do the same, also developing a compassionate nature. Further observing that while eating the apple, my mind did not give rise to greed, you would then learn how to prevent the mind from giving rise to greed, hatred, and delusion, thus purifying the mind. These are the benefits of seeing me face to face; you can learn from me. Then, following me constantly, observing how I conduct myself, interact with others, cultivate virtue, and handle various matters specifically—this way, you would learn many things, and your mental conduct, character, cultivation, etc., would all undergo changes. These are the benefits, or meritorious benefits, of finding me and following me.

Personally realizing the Tathāgatagarbha—not through hearing, not through oral transmission—allows one to observe the functioning of the Tathāgatagarbha in all dharmas right before one's eyes. One will learn many dharmas, and one's mind-nature will increasingly resemble the Tathāgatagarbha. Those who rely on conjecture will never have such meritorious benefits because they cannot observe it right before their eyes.