Black Box World (Part 5)

Someone might ask: If I am reborn in the Pure Land at the time of death, where is the Pure Land? Is it real or illusory? Of course, the Pure Land we can perceive is also an image conjured by the eighth consciousness, the Tathagatagarbha. We cannot access the relatively real Pure Land outside; that relatively real Pure Land is jointly created and sustained by Amitabha Buddha and the Tathagatagarbha of all sentient beings who have karmic connections with Amitabha Buddha and the Pure Land.

Among the eight consciousnesses, only the eighth consciousness can truly contact the so-called real material forms (rūpa-dharma) of the Pure Land outside. Our six consciousnesses cannot contact it directly; they can only perceive the images manifested by the eighth consciousness. Therefore, if one can reach the Pure Land, one should understand which Pure Land one is going to and where the Pure Land truly is. By realizing where the eighth consciousness manifests the lotus, one can comprehend it.

In reality, both the inner and outer aspects of the Pure Land exist, and both the inner and outer lotuses exist.

If we can be reborn there, is it truly a real rebirth? At the time of rebirth, are there really external Amitabha Buddha and bodhisattvas coming to welcome us? Is there really an external lotus for us to sit upon? Who can actually sit on a real lotus? Even the bed and chair in our own home cannot be truly sat upon.

We cannot truly reside in the relatively real Pure Land outside; if we reside anywhere, it is within the image manifested by our own eighth consciousness, dwelling in the Pure Land inside the black box. All dharmas are illusory; not a single dharma is real. The eighth consciousness manifests the lotus and the Pure Land within the black box. If the six consciousnesses can perceive it, they perceive this image; they do not contact the substantial Pure Land. This is a very important realization. Through diligent and earnest contemplation and practice, one can eradicate the view of self, gradually eradicate self-attachment, and thereby attain liberation.