The Tathāgatagarbha's Inherent Purity as Expounded in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra

Lankavatara Sutra Original Text: O Mahamati, this Tathagatagarbha Alayavijnana is what the Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas perceive only through mental conception. Although its intrinsic nature is pure, it appears impure to them because it is obscured by adventitious defilements. It is not so for the Tathagatas.

Brief Explanation: This passage states that Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas can only conceive of the Tathagatagarbha mentally. They hold the view and understanding that there exists a Tathagatagarbha which is the intrinsically pure mind, the true Self. However, they merely possess this intellectual understanding and cannot truly realize it. Only Bodhisattvas with great resolve can realize it; one should not speculate or conjecture. Although Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas know of the intrinsically pure mind, it remains obscured and covered by the adventitious afflictions accumulated since beginningless time, preventing them from perceiving it. Thus, their understanding is still insufficient. Although they have attained the purification of the Dharma-eye within the Hinayana path, regarding the Dharma of the Tathagatagarbha, they have not yet given rise to the Dharma-eye; their understanding remains impure.

Therefore, Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas cannot realize the eighth consciousness, the Tathagatagarbha. If they could realize it, they would become Arhat-Pratyekabuddha-Bodhisattvas, and their spiritual lineage would change.

The Tathagatas, the Buddhas, are not like this. For the Tathagatas, when all dharmas manifest, they are present as the immediate, actualized state. They observe everything through direct perception, without relying on imagination, thought, or conjecture. It is entirely a state of direct perception. When a state arises before them, they know it instantly, as clearly as seeing an amala fruit in the palm of their hand—transparent, lucid, and truly pure.