The Profound Meaning of Consciousness-only in the Diamond Sutra (85)

The term "Tathāgata" explicitly refers to the Buddha of the Five Aggregates body, while implicitly pointing to the Dharma Body Buddha. The Dharma Body Buddha is formless and without characteristics; it is the Buddha's undefiled consciousness and the Tathāgatagarbha of sentient beings. After attaining Buddhahood, the Buddha's seven consciousnesses and the undefiled consciousness of the Dharma Body share similar inherent virtues. The seven consciousnesses fully transform and rely upon the undefiled consciousness, extinguishing all ignorance. At this point, the mind's nature becomes extremely close to Suchness (Tathatā), and the mental factors (caitasika) are identical: there are the five universal mental factors, the five particular mental factors, and the eleven wholesome mental factors. All eight consciousnesses possess these twenty-one mental factors.

The Tathāgata of the Dharma Body Buddha refers to the true Suchness mind-essence, which is the Tathāgatagarbha. "True speech" (Satyavāc) is speech that is genuinely true. It is perception-level speech (pratyakṣa-vāc), meaning the Tathāgatagarbha can manifest perception-level realms; there is no inference (anumāna) or erroneous cognition (viparyaya). All its manifestations accord with reality, align with facts, and correspond to the karmic seeds of sentient beings. It always presents the original state of sentient beings' karmic actions truthfully.

"Real speech" (Bhūtavāc) is speech that is as-it-is. Regardless of whether sentient beings create wholesome, unwholesome, or neutral karma, the Tathāgatagarbha records, stores, and outputs it truthfully. It faithfully actualizes the karmic results for sentient beings, never altering, omitting, or missing any karmic actions, karmic seeds, or karmic retribution. Whatever karma it is, it records that karma; whatever retribution it is, it actualizes that retribution.

"Such speech" (Tathāvāc) on one hand refers to speech that is as-it-is and true, and on the other hand points to the immutable, unmoving nature of the mind-essence—it does not stir thoughts and has no mental activity. When the Tathāgatagarbha transforms and creates all dharmas, its inner state remains immutable and unmoving; it does not generate thoughts or mental stirrings. It has no emotions, no feelings, and is entirely in a state of equanimity (upekṣā).

"Non-deceptive speech" (Anṛṣavāc): Deception means to deceive, trick, or defraud. The Tathāgatagarbha has never deceived sentient beings, never cheated sentient beings. In contrast, the six consciousnesses of sentient beings constantly engage in unwholesome speech karma, using deceptive language, not speaking true speech, not speaking speech that is as-it-is. They incessantly engage in false speech (mṛṣāvāda), divisive speech (paiśunya), frivolous speech (saṃbhinna-pralāpa), and harsh speech (pāruṣya). They often say one thing while meaning another, make indirect accusations, conceal the truth, fabricate lies, habitually speak untruthful speech, false speech, lies, make excuses for shortcomings, and harbor jealousy towards the worthy and capable—creating every kind of unwholesome speech karma.

"Non-erratic speech" (Avitathavāc): "Erratic" means change, difference, alteration, another kind, or divergent. Erratic speech is saying one thing to someone's face and another behind their back, saying one thing to person A and another to person B, or saying one thing at this time and then changing to something else at that time. This is duplicitous speech, or saying something and then changing it immediately—not standing by one's word. These mental activities are the workings of the six consciousness minds; the unwholesome speech karma created by the six consciousnesses lacks verbal virtue, precisely like this. Moreover, they feel no shame, no remorse; being shameless and remorseless constitutes defilements and unwholesome habits. However, the Tathāgatagarbha never speaks duplicitously, never speaks inconsistent language, does not change back and forth, nor is it inconsistent or incoherent. It does not store the wholesome karmic seeds of sentient beings and then output unwholesome karmic seeds, causing sentient beings to suffer bad retribution. Conversely, it also does not store unwholesome karmic seeds and output wholesome karmic seeds, causing sentient beings to receive good retribution. It is not two-faced; it does not undergo any change or variation and is never unfaithful to karmic seeds and cause and effect.

Furthermore, the Reward Body Buddha (Sambhogakāya), the Response Body Buddha (Nirmāṇakāya), and the Emanation Body Buddha, who possess the Five Aggregates body, are also like the Dharma Body Buddha: they are eternally speakers of true speech, eternally speakers of real speech, eternally speakers of such speech, eternally non-deceptive speakers, and eternally non-erratic speakers. This is because the Buddha's seven consciousnesses have extinguished all ignorance, defilements, and habitual tendencies of defilements; they have completely transformed consciousness into wisdom (jñāna). Their virtue is incomparable and supreme; their speech karma is perfectly wholesome and flawless, without the slightest blemish, perfectly harmonious and unobstructed, causing all sentient beings throughout the ten directions to revere and venerate them incomparably.