The World of Black Boxes
Chapter 8: The Relationship Between the Tathāgatagarbha and the Black Box
1. Communication and Interaction Among Tathāgatagarbhas
Since the tathāgatagarbha is formless and without marks, pervading the five aggregates, pervading all places, pervading all realms, pervading all times, pervading all stages, and pervading all dharmas—traces of the tathāgatagarbha are found everywhere throughout the entire world, the universe, and the material world—there is no such thing as the tathāgatagarbha being somewhere or not being somewhere, no such thing as going somewhere or not going somewhere; He neither comes nor goes. Since He neither comes nor goes, yet has these five pervasions, do the tathāgatagarbhas of sentient beings overlap with one another? Do they influence and communicate with one another?
Although the tathāgatagarbha of every sentient being has these pervasions, tathāgatagarbhas do not overlap with one another, because they are all formless and without marks. Yet tathāgatagarbhas do communicate with one another, because they are mind-consciousnesses of the same kind; therefore they certainly all have connections with one another and can communicate with each other. When conditions are met, they can come to know the seeds stored in the other's mind-substance, and thereby come to know the five-aggregate body that the other holds and sustains. When a tathāgatagarbha knows the seeds in another tathāgatagarbha, it knows all the conditions of the five aggregates of the sentient being manifested by that other tathāgatagarbha, and will know matters from life after life; therefore there are no secrets between tathāgatagarbhas.
When our tathāgatagarbha conditions upon another's tathāgatagarbha, it can know all the dharmas within that other tathāgatagarbha; our tathāgatagarbha can also discern the seeds within the other's tathāgatagarbha, and the other's tathāgatagarbha can likewise know the seeds within our tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, between the tathāgatagarbhas of sentient beings who share karmic affinity, each can discern the other's karmic seeds, and each will alert the five aggregates it holds and sustains; there will then be a resonance between the five aggregates. If there is a wholesome affinity, there will be harmony and peace, and the five aggregates of the two sentient beings will feel very joyful and congenial; if there is an unwholesome affinity, the tathāgatagarbhas each know the seeds of the unwholesome affinity and will alert the five aggregates they hold and sustain, and the relationship between the two five-aggregate beings becomes awkward. If each tathāgatagarbha outputs the seeds of the unwholesome affinity, the five aggregates of the two beings, when together, will be discordant and disharmonious.
Since tathāgatagarbhas are formless and without marks, and can all communicate with one another with information interaction, then no matter in which realm a sentient being with whom one has affinity exists, no matter in which world—whether in the land of bliss (sukhāvatī), or in his past or future lives, or on whichever celestial body in the material universe—the tathāgatagarbha knows it. This information will be transmitted to the five aggregates of the sentient being it holds and sustains, and the sensitive sixth and seventh consciousnesses will discern or feel a part of it, or feel all of it.
Tathāgatagarbhas all interact and intercommunicate; they have no barriers of time and no obstructions of place. They can discern the seeds in another tathāgatagarbha, and can discern them instantaneously, and sometimes can alert the five aggregates they themselves hold and sustain. Especially for a bodhisattva who possesses the wisdom of the varieties of paths, the information about other people that he knows is all provided by his own tathāgatagarbha. When the mind consciousness has great wisdom, it can dig out a great deal of information from its own tathāgatagarbha. At the stage of buddhahood, the Buddha's mind consciousness is complete wisdom-consciousness, an incomparable wisdom, able to know all the information in the undefiled consciousness (amala-vijñāna) without remainder. Therefore, with the Buddha there are fundamentally no secrets; nothing can be concealed from the Buddha's mind—the Buddha knows all dharmas.
2. A Person's Perception of Others Is Information Revealed by the Tathāgatagarbha
For example, suppose persons A and B are in two places, north and south. Although they do not meet, there is still information communication between the two tathāgatagarbhas. Everything about B is known by A's tathāgatagarbha; it is only that A's five aggregates do not know it. Everything about A is also known by B's tathāgatagarbha; it is only that B's five aggregates do not know it. But after each tathāgatagarbha discerns the seeds in the other's tathāgatagarbha, when conditions arise, each will alert its five aggregates to the other's seed information, and the feelings of the two five aggregates, A's and B's, will change. The more clever and quick-witted the mind consciousness, the more distinct the feeling, and the two will interact according to their past affinity, whether wholesome or unwholesome—all the result of each tathāgatagarbha acting according to karmic seeds.
If two sentient beings had an affinity in past lives, no matter where each of them is—whether in the animal realm, the hungry ghost realm, or the land of bliss (sukhāvatī)—the two tathāgatagarbhas will both come to know it. If one sentient being is on one celestial body in the universe and the other on a different planet, there will be information communication between the two tathāgatagarbhas, and once the conditions ripen, they will take effect, bringing the two sentient beings together to fulfill the karmic seeds of past lives—the causes and conditions then become operative.
Tathāgatagarbhas all have informational connections and communication with one another, because the tathāgatagarbha has no regional limitation and no limitation of time or place. For example, the past-life affairs of sentient being A, or the past-life affairs of sentient being B who has an affinity with him, can all be fully discerned by the tathāgatagarbhas of both A and B through the other, through complete attention (manaskāra). This is the wisdom and virtue inherent in the tathāgatagarbha.
When one has cultivated to the point of possessing the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only (wei-shi zhong-zhi), upon contact with another person one can perceive a portion of that person's karmic seeds, and will know the general circumstances of that person's past lives, and can also judge the general circumstances of that person's future lives; often one's reading of people is very accurate. Two tathāgatagarbhas can communicate with each other; for a person with the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only, his mind consciousness can perceive the general situation of the other from his own tathāgatagarbha. For a person without the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only, it is very difficult.
Therefore, sometimes sentient beings themselves do not yet know their own mental activities, while others already know them, understanding them better than they understand themselves. As soon as a person opens his mouth to speak, he himself feels there is nothing to it, yet a great deal of his information has already leaked out, and he himself does not know it. Information about the other can be perceived from many angles; of course, face to face it is more accurate—looking at the other's facial features, observing expressions and speech, observing the other's expressive form (saṃsthāna-rūpa) and non-expressive form (avijñapti-rūpa), appearance, temperament, bearing, and so on—the knowing will be more comprehensive and more accurate. All of these are the wisdom that the tathāgatagarbha endows to the mind consciousness.
3. All Dharmas Are the Functional Attributes of the Tathāgatagarbha
After we have seen the mind and seen the nature, and continue with subsequent contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā), we will know that all the functions of the seven consciousnesses are, in the end, entirely the functional nature of the tathāgatagarbha; all the functions of the six faculties are, in the end, also the functional nature of the tathāgatagarbha; and all the phenomena of arising and ceasing of the six sense objects are also the functional nature of the tathāgatagarbha. In the end we will know that these dharmas are not me; I am the tathāgatagarbha. We can then know that all the functions of the five aggregates are entirely the tathāgatagarbha—what illusory functions of the five aggregates and eighteen realms could there be? The functions of the five aggregates and eighteen realms are all functions of the tathāgatagarbha.
When contemplative practice reaches its end, one will accept that all dharmas are entirely functions of the tathāgatagarbha, and not functions of any other dharma; the discriminating functions of the seven consciousnesses must all be traced back to the tathāgatagarbha—the knowing nature of the seven consciousnesses is entirely the function of the tathāgatagarbha. This kind of direct realization cannot be conveyed through language so that others equally and truly comprehend it; only when one has the capacity for direct realization oneself can one have some realization of it. At the first bhūmi, one will know that the tathāgatagarbha itself can see the six sense objects, manifest the six sense objects, and condition upon the six sense objects—He knows all states of experience. But this seeing and knowing of the tathāgatagarbha does not know the specific appearances of the six sense objects; He only knows all the circumstances at the seed stage, and then manifests the body faculty and conditions upon the body faculty—everything is the function of the tathāgatagarbha, and all knowing nature is entirely the attribute of the tathāgatagarbha.
4. The Mind Consciousness's Knowledge of All Dharmas Contains a Great Secret
We can do an experiment to prove that all dharmas are manifested by the tathāgatagarbha. Take the eye faculty and eye consciousness for contemplative practice. We know that the function of seeing form is the joint discernment and joint operation of the eye consciousness and the mind consciousness; only then can material sense objects be known. But when we close our eyes, and the eye consciousness does not arise with respect to material sense objects, we can still know material sense objects. For example, with eyes closed, when we reach out a hand and touch a table, although we have not opened our eyes to see what it is, we know it is a table and immediately feel that it is a table. Then we feel the shape of the table—whether square or round—and we know the table's shape. Then I feel the things on the table; I touch a book, and by feeling the cover, according to the tactile sensation, I know what kind of book it is; according to the shape, size, and thickness perceived by the hand, I know which book it is. Then I feel on the table something round and smooth, and immediately know it is an apple. This is of course the knowing of the mind consciousness, not separate from the mind consciousness's memory function, but behind this there are many secrets.
Although there is no participation of the eye consciousness, we have still known the material forms of the apple, the book, and the table; we simply have not seen the colors, but the colors can be imagined and recalled, and quite accurately too. Then the entire image of the table and the book manifests in my mind, and I can proceed with subsequent bodily, verbal, and mental actions based on this. The prerequisite here is that the mind consciousness must have had experience and encounters; only then, without the participation of the eye consciousness, can it discern what the material sense object is purely through the sense of touch.
Of course, within this discerning function there are very profound secrets. Our knowing of all material forms does not necessarily consist only of the eye consciousness's knowing and the mind consciousness's knowing; there is also the manas's knowing, and especially the tathāgatagarbha's knowing. In the end, when contemplative practice reaches these functions, they are all the tathāgatagarbha's—what genuine eye consciousness, mind consciousness, or manas is there? The first seven consciousnesses are all functions of the tathāgatagarbha. In the end one knows what "I" am: I am the tathāgatagarbha; I am not the five aggregates and eighteen realms; the five aggregates and eighteen realms are not me; only the tathāgatagarbha is me. When contemplative practice reaches its end, this conclusion will be reached.
For example, the Buddha also taught in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra that when in darkness we feel our own body with our hand, from head to foot, although we cannot see the body, wherever the hand touches, we know which part of the body it is. When we touch the head, we know it is my head; when we touch the hair, we know it is my hair, whether long or short, and how long or short; when we touch the eyes, we know they are the eyes. We cannot see our own eyes, yet we can know they are the eyes—even with eyes open, one still cannot see one's own eyes, but as soon as the hand touches, one knows they are the eyes.
When we touch the nose, we also know that this pointed thing is the nose; when we touch the foot, we know it is my foot—without looking with the eyes, we still know it is my foot; when we touch the toes, we also know they are my toes. None of this requires looking with the eyes; with the eye consciousness not arising and only discerning darkness, the mind consciousness can discern it. Of course, this also involves the mind consciousness's memory function; beyond that, there is also the body consciousness's knowing, and especially the manas's knowing and the tathāgatagarbha's knowing—and these latter two kinds of knowing are extremely crucial and important. The mystery of immeasurable superknowledges also lies in the knowing of these two consciousnesses.
The manas and the tathāgatagarbha can govern and encompass all dharmas. Whatever dharma the tathāgatagarbha manifests, the manas can condition upon it, can receive it, and can discern it. All the six sense-object realms of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma, the realm of the body faculty, and the eleven material forms of the five faculties, five sense objects, and the form included among dharmas (dharmāyatanapariyāpanna-rūpa)—all have a knowing that discerns them. What this knowing is will be realized in the end. When one cultivates to a certain degree, one will realize that all dharmas are entirely the functions of the tathāgatagarbha, and that only the tathāgatagarbha is me. At buddhahood, the tathāgatagarbha is the truly permanent, blissful, self, and pure "I." These illusory functions are not the functions of the five-aggregate self; they are all manifested by the tathāgatagarbha, all functions of the tathāgatagarbha.
5. Why Can One See Forms Without the Eye Consciousness?
Take another example: a blind person. When a blind person walks, he cannot see the road, so he holds a cane. When the cane probes forward and strikes a stone, the mind consciousness feels it is very hard, although he may not know it is a stone. When his cane strikes the stone, he has not seen the stone, and his body has not touched the stone, yet he knows there is something obstructive ahead, and will try to walk around it. He has no eyes, yet he can know it is a stone, or know it is something hard that can trip him. So knowing hardness, or knowing it is a stone, knowing material sense objects and tactile sense objects, does not necessarily require seeing with the eyes or touching with the body; there are other methods of discernment—and of course, great secrets are involved in all of them.
Take, for example, a guide dog. A blind person uses a guide dog; when the guide dog sees an obstruction ahead, it turns direction, and the blind person, being led, also turns direction. Thus the blind person, without his eyes looking at the road, can know to go forward, backward, left, or right. This knowing is quite strange—this knowing can know without the eyes, or can know sense-object states without one of the five consciousnesses. If we develop all these functions, the six faculties will intercommunicate and be used interchangeably.
Take another example: when we close our eyes, although we do not see external forms, we can still see darkness, and darkness is also a kind of form. After the eyes are closed for a long time, it no longer feels too dark, and some light-colors will appear before the eyes. A person without meditative concentration (samādhi) will see multicolored hues; a person with meditative concentration will at first see red, then golden-red, and in the end pale yellow. And at the very last, the light-colors seen become even fainter and brighter. Although our eye consciousness does not arise, with eyes closed we can still see the forms before us. In this seeing nature, whose seeing nature is it?
What do these functions show? They show that behind our surface illusory functions there is still a true, never-corrupting nature of virtue and function that can govern and encompass all dharmas. We can have the nature of seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing without using the five faculties. Whose functions are the functions of the six faculties, in the end? They are all functions of the tathāgatagarbha. When we no longer take the functions of the six faculties as self or as real, and become less and less attached to the functions of the six faculties, our inherent wisdom and virtue will manifest, radiating and unfolding; all these functions will be developed and revealed, and no dharma will ever again be an obstruction, no longer any secret.
When we no longer cling to the marks of light and darkness and form, the eye faculty is subdued, and the manas can be used to replace the eye faculty's function; the divine eye can then arise, and in the end there will be the Buddha eye. When the ear faculty no longer grasps the two marks of motion and stillness and does not discriminate between them, the ear faculty is subdued, and the manas will come to replace the ear faculty's function; the divine ear appears, and the six faculties can all intercommunicate and be used interchangeably. In fact, the six faculties are all governed and held together by the manas and the tathāgatagarbha; their functions can entirely be replaced by the manas and the tathāgatagarbha. It is only that when sentient beings are deluded and attached to the six faculties, the functions of the six faculties become limited—each faculty can only have its own individual function and cannot intercommunicate or be used interchangeably.
When our cultivation subdues the six faculties, immeasurable superknowledges and wisdom-virtues can all be revealed. Then, in seeing all forms, one need not follow light and darkness—light and darkness are what the eye faculty confronts; in hearing all sounds, one need not follow motion and stillness; in smelling all scents, one need not follow openness and blockage; in tasting all flavors, one need not follow blandness and richness. When the six faculties no longer follow these arising-and-ceasing illusory marks, the functions of the original mind and original nature will be restored, and in the end it is all the tathāgatagarbha's perfectly luminous knowing—at that point one becomes a Buddha. So how wonderful it is to study Buddhism and cultivate! When we thoroughly fathom the functional natures and operations of the six faculties, six sense objects, and six consciousnesses, and cultivate ultimately upon this very basis, we can perfectly accomplish omniscience/wisdom of all aspects (sarvākārajñatā), and immeasurable wisdom will be perfectly and completely fulfilled.
6. The Faculties, Sense Objects, and Consciousnesses in the Black Box Are All Manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha
The supreme faculty (indriya) of this black box was originally constructed bit by bit in the mother's womb by the tathāgatagarbha using the seeds of the four great elements, including the five supreme faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body. After the construction matures, the material body emerges from the womb. Thereafter, as one ages, the tathāgatagarbha uses the seeds of the four great elements to continuously mature and perfect the supreme faculties, continuously holds and sustains them, and also lets the supreme faculties, after maturing, gradually age, finally passing into extinction.
The contents loaded in the black box are the inner six sense objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma. The external six sense objects are stored into the black box in sequence through the transmitting nerves, arising and ceasing, changing, moment by moment—arising and perishing swiftly without lingering. The tathāgatagarbha takes in the external six sense objects from the essential realm and transmits them along the way, passing through layer upon layer of media. Each time it passes through a layer of media, a portion of the four-great-element particles on the external six sense objects is blocked, and the external six sense objects change by one layer; the sense-object states undergo slight changes. The more media they pass through, the more they change.
When transmitted to the five gross material faculties (pañca-viparīta-rūpa-indriya), the five gross material faculties are also a layer of media, and will block a portion of the particles from entering the transmitting nerves, and the six sense objects change again somewhat. By the time they enter the supreme faculties at the back of the brain and become the inner six sense objects, who knows how many times they have changed and how many four-great-element particles have been blocked—how great, after all, is the difference between the inner six sense objects and the external six sense objects? Then what is the relationship between the external six sense objects and the inner six sense objects? The external six sense objects are like real objects outside a mirror; the inner six sense objects are like the images in the mirror—the two are similar, but not entirely identical. Therefore, the six sense-object realms we perceive are fundamentally not real, not the original appearance of the six sense objects; they are altered and altered again. Yet we foolishly cling to them so relentlessly, treasuring them beyond measure—what is the point? If there were no tathāgatagarbha, we could not see either the real objects or the images, let alone grasp them.
