The Profound Meaning of the Diamond Sutra: Vijñaptimātratā (Lecture 130)

Subhūti, if you entertain the thought that those who have generated the mind set on anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi (unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment) speak of all dharmas as annihilated and extinct, do not entertain such a thought. Why? Because those who have generated the mind set on anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi do not speak of the characteristic of annihilation regarding dharmas.

Explanation: The World-Honored One said to Subhūti: Subhūti, if you harbor such a thought in your mind, believing that those who have generated the mind set on anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi say that all dharmas are annihilated emptiness, fundamentally non-existent, and that upon attaining Buddhahood there are no dharmas whatsoever, lacking all characteristics of dharmas, then quickly eradicate such a thought; do not hold such an idea or view. Why should you not hold such a thought or view? Because those who have generated the mind set on anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi are able to generate the mind aspiring for Buddhahood precisely because they believe in and accept the real mark (true reality) of the non-annihilated Mind. Therefore, they would not again say that all dharmas are annihilated.

Those who genuinely generate the mind aspiring to become Buddhas have, at this point, fulfilled the conditions of a Faith-stage Bodhisattva. They will then have unwavering faith that every sentient being possesses the real, non-arising and non-ceasing Mind, the Tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature). They believe with certainty that all Buddhas of the ten directions possess the real Mind, the Tathāgatagarbha, and that relying on this Tathāgatagarbha to cultivate is the way to accomplish anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. They believe that they themselves also possess the existence of the real Mind, the Tathāgatagarbha, and that they will realize the Tathāgatagarbha in the future, enabling them to become Buddhas just like all Buddhas. Sentient beings throughout the ten-direction worlds also all possess the indestructible, vajra-like Mind, the Tathāgatagarbha, which is non-arising and non-ceasing, and therefore they too can all become Buddhas. Because they generate this faith, the Ten Stages of Faith are fulfilled, and they enter the Ten Abodes to begin cultivating the Six Pāramitās of the Bodhisattva path. If one does not believe that they themselves possess the Tathāgatagarbha, if they do not believe the Tathāgatagarbha truly exists, then their faith in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Triple Gem is not yet fulfilled. Their cultivation of the Ten Stages of Faith is incomplete, and they cannot genuinely generate the Bodhicitta (mind set on enlightenment) aspiring for Buddhahood.

Those whose Ten Stages of Faith are not yet fulfilled cannot yet believe that the Tathāgatagarbha truly exists. They often consider the Tathāgatagarbha to be merely a nominal designation, a mere concept. They believe that the emptiness of the Tathāgatagarbha equates to the non-existence of the Tathāgatagarbha, and that this concept of Tathāgatagarbha is merely a skillful provisional teaching spoken by the Buddhas. Because they fail to correctly understand the Buddha's intended meaning, they misinterpret all the Buddha's ultimate, definitive teachings as being his skillful, provisional teachings or expedient means. They merely refrain from stating publicly that the Buddha spoke merely to amuse sentient beings – an assertion most people dare not voice openly – but this is essentially what they mean. This thought constitutes slander of the Buddha and slander of the Dharma. It treats all the Buddha's ultimate, definitive teachings as if they were non-definitive, non-ultimate teachings, thereby severely distorting the Buddha's true meaning. The evil karma of sentient beings slandering the Buddha and the Dharma is widespread; this is not strange, as it is all due to sentient beings having cultivated for too short a time over countless eons, resulting in insufficient merit.