All dharmas of body and mind return to the tathāgatagarbha

Mental factors (caittas), as the name suggests, are dharmas that belong to the mind. Emotions, attitudes, opinions, suggestions, anxiety, agitation, jealousy, sadness, and so on are all dharmas that arise upon the mind and belong to the mind, and are therefore called mental factors. Dharmas that arise upon the body, dharmas that belong to the body, are called body-possessed dharmas, as the name suggests. Dharmas possessed by the material body—such as falling ill, changes in body weight, the occurrence of various mishaps, the production of some things, or the reduction of some things, and so on—all arising, ceasing, and changes upon the body are body-possessed dharmas. The material body is divided into the internal body and the external body: the internal body is the physical body, and the external body is the six sense objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas; taken together, they all constitute the body of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha). The physical body is material form (rūpa), and the dharmas that arise upon the body are also material form, so whatever belongs to material form is also material form. All dharmas that belong to the body are also dharmas that belong to the mind—which mind does this mind refer to?

All worldly dharmas are divided into material form (rūpa) and mind (citta), as well as what is neither form nor mind; in terms of their possession, they are divided into mental factors and body-possessed dharmas, as well as dharmas possessed by neither body nor mind. All these dharmas are subsumed under the possession of the tathāgatagarbha. Once all dharmas are returned to the tathāgatagarbha, there is nothing left—so what are we still craving and clinging to now? It is all empty, all false appearance. Unfortunately, the habit energy of craving and clinging is too deeply rooted and too hard to transform. The fundamental reason is that the real suchness of the dharmadhātu has not been understood or seen clearly. This matter takes three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas to thoroughly clarify; after that, everything changes, and the practice of the path comes to an end.

What mental factors operate within longing? What mental factors operate within thinking? What mental factors operate within investigation? What mental factors operate within deliberation? What mental factors operate within contemplative inquiry? What mental factor is understanding? What mental factor is willingness? What mental factors operate within hope? What mental factor is comprehension? What mental factors operate within planning? What mental factor is expectation? What mental factor is well-wishing? What mental factors are there within vow-power?

What mental factors are comprehending, realizing, and knowing? What mental factors are agreeing, endorsing, and echoing? What mental factor is abiding mindfulness of this very object? What mental factor is the mental image in the mind that lingers and will not fade? What mental factor is never forgetting, thought after thought? What mental factor is keeping firmly in mind? What mental factor is unwavering resolve? What mental factor is fixing the mind on one point? What mental factor is not taking one's eyes off? What mental factor is conscience? What functions does the volitional mental factor (saṃjñā/cetanā) have? What functions and roles does the perception mental factor (saṃjñā) have?

The states of mind, characteristics of mind, temperament, disposition, and innate nature all belong to mental factors; there are wholesome natures, unwholesome natures, and neither-wholesome-nor-unwholesome natures. Strictly speaking, there are not only fifty-one mental factors; if divided in fine detail, there are at least several hundred or even a thousand. Bodhisattva Vasubandhu merely roughly and coarsely summarized them as fifty-one, and the summary is not comprehensive. If the Buddha were to summarize these mental factors, it would be extremely subtle and fine. Therefore, in learning Buddhism, apart from relying entirely on what the Buddha has said, we may rely on others, but must handle it with discretion and have the ability to be flexible and adaptable.

Even when relying on what the Buddha has said, one should still have a certain capacity for flexibility, for fully understanding what the Buddha has said is also very difficult. Sometimes the Buddha's words and the Buddha's intent have a certain difference and gap, and are not entirely consistent, because sentient beings' wisdom is limited and the Buddha cannot fully speak out His meaning; He often speaks implicitly and skillfully, and when wisdom is insufficient, misunderstanding easily arises. Many people expound Buddhist sutras, but what they expound is actually not the Buddha's original intent; the phenomenon of distorting the Buddha's meaning is too widespread and too common. The Buddha has endured it all, even though He has no mind of enduring.