Section Four: The True Mind is Empty and Quiescent, Without Old Age and Death

Scripture: ["(The Tathāgatagarbha) even has no old age and death. Nor is there an end to old age and death."] This means the Tathāgatagarbha never ages. It has no time or lifespan, nor does it have past, present, or future. It is ancient yet ever new, a true Buddha of Immeasurable Life.

I. The Tathāgatagarbha Fundamentally Has No Birth or Death

The five aggregates and eighteen elements are constantly undergoing birth, abiding, change, and extinction. The physical body continuously changes, ages, and decays. This is the result of the Tathāgatagarbha instantaneously and continuously projecting seeds of the four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—causing the cells and tissues to undergo instantaneous metabolism. Thus, we gradually grow up and age. The Tathāgatagarbha knows the karmic seeds of sentient beings. At the corresponding time, it manifests a physical body aligned with those karmic seeds, causing us to grow old bit by bit. The physical body of the five aggregates changes based on the karmic seeds and various constantly changing conditions, as the Tathāgatagarbha projects the corresponding seeds of the four elements. The constant changes of the physical body are all due to the function of the Tathāgatagarbha's seeds of the four elements. When the body is unhealthy, it is because the Tathāgatagarbha, knowing the karmic seeds, projects unbalanced seeds of the four elements. The imbalance of the four elements is due to the karma we created in the past, which must bear its corresponding fruit. If it is good karma, it will result in a good retribution; then the Tathāgatagarbha projects balanced seeds of the four elements, and the body is healthy. The retribution for creating evil karma is an unhealthy body. Serious illnesses that afflict some people are the result of heavy killing karma in past lives and forming evil affinities with sentient beings. All karmic seeds are stored in the Tathāgatagarbha; when conditions ripen, the karmic retribution manifests.

So where does birth and death come from? They are illusory manifestations projected by the Tathāgatagarbha. Without the Tathāgatagarbha, there would be no birth and death. However, the Tathāgatagarbha manifests all dharmas in accordance with the birth-and-death karmic seeds of sentient beings, completely following conditions without exercising control. But minor illnesses are not necessarily caused by past-life karma; they might arise due to changes in external conditions. The Tathāgatagarbha responds to such changes, and a temporary imbalance in the four elements causes illness. This imbalance occurs because the proportional structure of the seeds projected by the Tathāgatagarbha changes, altering the condition of certain parts of the physical body, which is also self-induced. Health and illness are also transformations of consciousness-only, produced by the combined transformations of the Tathāgatagarbha, the mental faculty (manas), and the six consciousnesses. When these three transformative consciousnesses harmonize and transform, various illnesses of the physical body of the five aggregates manifest.

All dharmas cannot be separated from the consciousness-mind that creates all dharmas; this is the principle that all dharmas are consciousness-only. For example: anger, agitation, falling ill due to internal heat, and all such dharmas are created by one's own consciousness-mind. Facing the same situation, others may not develop internal heat while you do; different mental states manifest different appearances and sensations. The physical body of the five aggregates ages instant by instant; this is the appearance manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha following karmic conditions. It knows when white hair grows, when wrinkles appear, when bodily functions decline, and when death occurs. The conscious perceiving mind cannot know this.

The Tathāgatagarbha does not age, nor is it young, because it has no characteristic of a lifespan. It is neither a child, nor an adult, nor an elder. Saying it is 100 years old is incorrect, 10,000 years old is incorrect, immeasurably old is also incorrect, because it has always existed and will never die. For us to cultivate and attain Buddhahood requires three great immeasurable eons. This immeasurable eon is still finite because Buddhahood is ultimately achieved. Once Buddhahood is attained, the immeasurable eons end. But the Tathāgatagarbha truly has no measure; it has no end and will never cease to exist. Therefore, it cannot be compared using any measure.

Amitābha Buddha of the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is also called the Buddha of Immeasurable Life. Although Amitābha Buddha is of immeasurable life, His lifespan is finite. When the conditions for Amitābha Buddha in the Land of Ultimate Bliss are exhausted, He will relinquish His position, and Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara will succeed Him as Buddha. Therefore, Amitābha Buddha's lifespan is finite. After relinquishing His position, He will go to other Buddha lands where He has affinities to continue serving as Buddha, and He can simultaneously manifest as Buddha in immeasurable worlds to liberate sentient beings. Śākyamuni Buddha has immeasurable Buddha lands. He has immeasurable response bodies and countless emanations, liberating sentient beings in countless lands. After attaining Buddhahood, a Buddha does not perish nor revert to being a sentient being; this is absolutely impossible. He merely changes Buddha lands to benefit and bring joy to sentient beings.

Śākyamuni Buddha's majestic reward body is currently in the Akaniṣṭha Heaven, expounding the Dharma to Bodhisattvas from the first to the tenth ground. That reward body Buddha has a lifespan of seven million asaṃkhyeya kalpas. We only need three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas to attain Buddhahood, yet the Buddha's reward body has a lifespan as long as seven million asaṃkhyeya kalpas. Although this time is extremely long, it still has an end. What happens after it ends? There are still more Buddha lands to preside over. Why are there so many lands? Because the Tathāgatagarbha is formless, markless, and without boundaries; thus, Buddha lands and Buddha's emanations are immeasurable and boundless.

Since the Tathāgatagarbha has no old age and death, there is no such dharma as the cessation of old age and death, meaning there is no end to old age and death. The old age and death of the five aggregates exist because of the Tathāgatagarbha, which can manifest the karmic retribution of the birth-and-death actions created by the five aggregates. The appearance of birth and death is due to the karmic conditions for birth and death held by ordinary sentient beings. For Bodhisattvas who have no karmic conditions for birth and death and who have made the pure great vow to never enter the remainderless nirvāṇa, the Tathāgatagarbha will follow these karmic conditions and vows to manifest the false appearances of birth and death for sentient beings. Since the Tathāgatagarbha has no old age and death, there is no such dharma as the end of old age and death, and thus there is no need to eliminate the phenomenon of old age and death. The purpose of the cultivation of the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses is to make the five aggregates eternally free from aging and death, unbound by old age and death. However, the Tathāgatagarbha has no concept of eternal youth or immortality; it is inherently eternal, without the passing of time characterized by momentary changes, without birth, death, or metabolism, eternally free from aging, death, and cessation.

II. Extinguishing Old Age and Death to Enter Nirvāṇa by Relying on the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination

The content related to ignorance and old age/death is the Dharma of the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, the Middle Vehicle Dharma cultivated by Pratyekabuddhas. Pratyekabuddhas are further divided into voice-hearers and solitary realizers. What is the difference? Solitary Pratyekabuddhas, due to cultivating the path over many lifetimes, possess very profound wholesome roots. When there is no presence of the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Saṅgha) in the world, they are able to generate the mind to cultivate the path. Upon seeing a phenomenon of birth and death in the world, they become alert, recognizing that these phenomena of birth and death in the world must have causes and conditions. They then go into the mountains to investigate the origins and connections of these phenomena of birth and death, thereby resolving the great matter of birth and death.

(1) The Forward Progression of the Twelve Links

When a solitary Pratyekabuddha cultivates the path alone in the deep mountains, he observes and discovers that every dharma arises from conditions. By investigating each link of the twelvefold dependent origination, he realizes the emptiness of arising from conditions—that dharmas arising from conditions are empty. He exhausts the ignorance of a single thought, severs the self-attachment of the mental faculty, and extinguishes himself to enter nirvāṇa. Voice-hearer Pratyekabuddhas are born during a Buddha's time. They follow the Buddha's teachings to cultivate, investigating each arising and ceasing link of the twelvefold dependent origination, and realize the emptiness of arising from conditions.

The twelve links of the chain of birth and death: Ignorance conditions volitional formations; volitional formations condition consciousness; consciousness conditions name-and-form; name-and-form conditions the six sense bases; the six sense bases condition contact; contact conditions feeling; feeling conditions craving; craving conditions clinging; clinging conditions becoming; becoming conditions birth; birth conditions aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair.

1. Ignorance: This is unknowing, stupidity. It has been explained previously and will not be repeated here.

2. Ignorance conditions volitional formations: The twelvefold dependent origination is twelve links of the chain of birth and death. Because all sentient beings have ignorance, with ignorance they create various bodily, verbal, and mental actions. Thus, the entire chain is initiated by ignorance. "Ignorance conditions volitional formations": this "conditions" means to produce, generate, induce, or initiate. Bodily formations are bodily actions and creations; verbal formations are various speech creations; mental formations are various mental activities, the various thoughts and ideas of the mind. As long as ignorance is not severed, the creation of bodily, verbal, and mental actions will not cease.

3. Volitional formations condition consciousness: While bodily, verbal, and mental karma are continuously created, they inevitably involve the six consciousnesses continuously discerning and operating. Because the six consciousnesses refuse to be still, the mental faculty also continuously grasps and clings. If the mental faculty cannot sever its grasping nature, it cannot extinguish itself.

4. Consciousness conditions name-and-form: For the seven evolving consciousnesses to function normally, they must rely on a physical body. Thus, after death, an intermediate state body (bardo) appears. Within the intermediate state, the mental faculty refuses to extinguish itself and still clings to a physical body, thereby dragging the eighth consciousness to take rebirth. After rebirth occurs, there is a fertilized egg, and the name-and-form of the five aggregates gradually arises. Due to ignorance, the name-and-form of the next life arises. This is the principle of ignorance conditioning volitional formations, volitional formations conditioning consciousness, and consciousness conditioning name-and-form.

5. Name-and-form conditions the six sense bases: At the moment of rebirth into the fertilized egg, the first six consciousnesses are extinguished. The mental faculty and the eighth consciousness enter the womb. The mental faculty is "name," and the fertilized egg is "form"; this is the initial name-and-form. The Tathāgatagarbha absorbs the four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—from the mother's body to transform and generate the fertilized egg. The fertilized egg gradually develops and grows, giving rise to the head, limbs, and internal organs. After the body gradually takes shape, the eye faculty, ear faculty, nose faculty, and tongue faculty are also generated. Once the six faculties are complete, the Tathāgatagarbha can transmit external six dusts (objects) into the internal six faculties through the six sense bases, manifesting the internal six dusts as perceived aspects. Thus, the six entrances (sense fields) are produced. This is the principle of name-and-form conditioning the six sense bases.

6. The six sense bases condition contact: The Tathāgatagarbha can generate consciousness when the fetus is four or five months old. When the six faculties and six dusts come into contact, the Tathāgatagarbha generates the six consciousnesses. The six consciousnesses can contact the perceived aspects of the six dusts. This is the six sense bases conditioning contact.

7. Contact conditions feeling: The contact of the six consciousnesses with the six dusts generates feelings. The eye contacts form and there is feeling (at a certain stage of fetal development, it can perceive light and dark); the ear contacts sound and there is feeling; the nose contacts smells, the tongue contacts tastes, the body contacts tangible objects, and the mind contacts mental objects—all have feeling. This is contact conditioning feeling.

8. Feeling conditions craving: Feelings are divided into painful feelings, pleasant feelings, and neutral feelings. When the six consciousnesses have feelings, they generate thoughts and emotions of greed and craving. This is feeling conditioning craving. Sometimes sentient beings even develop craving for painful feelings. Why? Because the intrinsic nature of the mental faculty is to grasp all dharmas. For example, although this Sahā World of Five Turbidities is so full of suffering, and the World-Honored One exhorts sentient beings to seek rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, many are unwilling to go. When elderly people are told to quickly make vows seeking rebirth, they say they still have unfinished business and will seek rebirth after finishing their tasks. They wait until the end of life, still not finishing their tasks, remaining attached and unwilling to let go.

Our world is so full of suffering, and the Land of Ultimate Bliss is so full of bliss, yet sentient beings lack the sincere wish to seek rebirth there. This mental state of sentient beings is ignorance. Because of ignorance, they crave and cling—craving when it's pleasant and also craving when it's painful. It is due to the ignorant grasping of the mental faculty that they crave the birth-and-death dust and toil before them. Although our Sahā World is so full of suffering, countless sentient beings still cling to it, unwilling to leave. This is because ignorance is deep and heavy. This is feeling conditioning craving.

9. Craving conditions clinging: With feelings, craving arises. Once craving arises, sentient beings grasp and seize all the realms they crave, always wanting to possess and own everything—people, affairs, and objects. As long as they have not attained the third or fourth fruition (of Arhatship), sentient beings all have craving, differing only in the object, scope, and degree of craving. Those who have attained meditative absorptions or have realized fruition, yet lack the ability to enter nirvāṇa at life's end, also do so because of craving and the grasping of the mental faculty. If craving is not completely severed—whether craving the form realm or craving the various meditative states of the formless realm—they cannot escape the cycle of rebirth and liberate themselves from birth and death. Once sentient beings have craving, they inevitably seek to obtain, possess, grasp, and seize. In this way, the mundane dharmas of the three realms continuously arise, and sentient beings revolve in birth and death like a whirling circle of fire, turning endlessly. This is craving conditioning clinging.

10. Clinging conditions becoming: With clinging, the dharmas of existence in the three realms arise. This is clinging conditioning becoming. The threefold world we live in arises precisely because the mental faculty continuously grasps and clings. If we no longer crave and cling, these worldly dharmas will no longer appear.

11. Becoming conditions birth: After we crave and cling, there is the threefold world—the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm. With an environment and space for existence, our life can appear and we can survive here. This is becoming conditioning birth.

12. Birth conditions old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair: Once life appears, there is old age, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair. Immeasurable suffering arises. This is birth conditioning old age, sickness, and death.

The fundamental reason sentient beings have the birth of the five aggregates and the arising of these living environments in the three realms is that we have ignorance within our minds. If ignorance is completely extinguished, craving for the three realms will be exhausted. Then, like Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas, we will have the ability to enter nirvāṇa, extinguishing all five aggregates and eighteen elements so they are never reborn again. Then not a single dharma within the three realms will manifest, and all affairs within the three realms will cease.

(2) The Reverse Progression of the Ten Links

The above is the forward progression of the twelvefold dependent origination cultivated and realized by Pratyekabuddhas. There is also a reverse progression of ten links, tracing back from birth, old age, sickness, and death to the very source of life, the Tathāgatagarbha.

Where do our birth, old age, sickness, and death come from? Why are there birth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair? The Pratyekabuddha contemplates: Because this life entity—the birth and existence of the five aggregates—exists, there is old age, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair. This is "old age and death are conditioned by birth."

They further contemplate: Where does the life entity come from? It is because there is this environment for existence in the three realms that the life entity can be born. This is "birth is conditioned by becoming."

Where does the environment of the three realms come from? It arises from the mental activity of clinging to the dharmas of the three realms, seizing and possessing them. This is "becoming is conditioned by clinging."

Why does clinging arise? Because of craving for the dharmas of the three realms, clinging arises. This is "clinging is conditioned by craving."

Why does craving arise? Because when there is feeling regarding contact, craving arises. This is "craving is conditioned by feeling."

Why is there feeling? Because the six faculties contact the six dusts and perceive them. This is "feeling is conditioned by contact."

Why is there contact? Where does contact come from? Because there are the six sense bases. This is "contact is conditioned by the six sense bases."

Why are there the six sense bases? Where do the six sense bases come from? Because there is the fertilized egg, name-and-form, the six sense bases exist. This is "the six sense bases are conditioned by name-and-form."

Where does the fertilized egg name-and-form come from? The Pratyekabuddha deduces that there must be a fundamental basis—the consciousness that enters the womb—which gives rise to name-and-form. Thus, he reaches the conclusion: consciousness conditions name-and-form; name-and-form conditions consciousness.

The forward contemplation of the twelve links of existence is the door of arising and ceasing—having this, that arises. The reverse progression of ten links seeks the root cause of old age and death; extinguishing this first requires extinguishing that—this is the door of cessation. Tracing back to the consciousness that enters the womb, the Ālaya-vijñāna (Tathāgatagarbha), one can go no further because the Tathāgatagarbha is the fundamental basis and source of all dharmas. No dharma can go beyond it; thus, one can only return to the Ālaya-vijñāna, the Tathāgatagarbha, and stop there. There is no dharma that can produce the Ālaya-vijñāna; the Tathāgatagarbha precedes even heaven and earth. The Tathāgatagarbha produces name-and-form. Name-and-form and the Tathāgatagarbha have a mutually dependent relationship. Name-and-form cannot arise or exist apart from the Tathāgatagarbha; the Tathāgatagarbha cannot be found apart from name-and-form because it cannot be located without name-and-form.

In the twelvefold dependent origination, the "consciousness" in "volitional formations condition consciousness" and "consciousness conditions name-and-form" refers to the impermanent six consciousnesses. In the reverse progression of the ten links, the "consciousness" in "consciousness conditions name-and-form" and "name-and-form conditions consciousness" refers to the consciousness that enters the womb—the Tathāgatagarbha. Name-and-form comes from the Tathāgatagarbha. Without the Tathāgatagarbha, there would be no fertilized egg; without the fertilized egg, there would be no name-and-form; without name-and-form, there would be no six sense bases; without the six sense bases, there would be no contact; without contact, there would be no feeling; without feeling, there would be no craving; without craving, there would be no clinging; without clinging, there would be no becoming in the three realms; without becoming, there would be no birth; without birth, there would be no old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair.

This forward and reverse progression of dependent origination was realized by solitary Buddhas after cultivating for many years in the deep mountains. They all had renunciation minds, all wished to end suffering, their minds were very pure, and their meditative concentration was excellent; thus, their contemplation and thinking were very profound and subtle. If we were to cultivate the twelvefold dependent origination, we would need to expend greater effort and more time and energy than the Pratyekabuddhas of past lives because our roots are too shallow, our renunciation mind is weak, our resolve for liberation is not firm, and our meditative concentration is poor. If a Bodhisattva, after realizing the mind (明心), contemplates the twelvefold dependent origination from the perspective of the Great Vehicle, thinking and investigating it meticulously, the wisdom attained at that time will surpass that of the Pratyekabuddhas. Similarly, when Bodhisattvas on the grounds (bhūmis) contemplate the Four Noble Truths, the wisdom of the Great Vehicle's Four Noble Truths they attain is also incomparable to that of Arhats. Because practitioners of the Two Vehicles do not realize true reality, they can only contemplate within the aggregates, sense bases, and elements; the wisdom they attain can only be considered conventional truth. In contrast, the Four Noble Truths and the dependent origination of the Great Vehicle are extremely profound.

Solitary Buddhas possess profound wholesome roots. In the absence of a Buddha, Dharma, or noble Saṅgha, they go alone to the deep mountains to cultivate, contemplate, investigate, and realize the fruition of the solitary Buddha path. Then the six supernatural powers manifest; they fly in the sky and come and go freely. They primarily liberate sentient beings through supernatural powers. When sentient beings see the vast supernatural powers of the Pratyekabuddha, they admire them, generate the mind to follow and cultivate the path. This is how Pratyekabuddhas liberate people. Having cultivated in the deep mountains for many years, their meditative concentration is quite high. After realizing the fruition, supernatural powers immediately appear, enabling them to influence other sentient beings with affinities to enter the Buddha Dharma and cultivate.

Pratyekabuddhas realize the principle that "consciousness conditions name-and-form" and "name-and-form conditions consciousness," understanding that the Tathāgatagarbha, relying on various conditions, produces the name-and-form of the five aggregates. After that, various phenomena of birth, old age, sickness, and death arise. They realize that all dharmas arise from conditions, have no inherent nature, and are empty due to dependent origination. Thus, they exhaust the afflictions of self-view and self-attachment, attain the fruition of Pratyekabuddhahood, and when their worldly conditions are exhausted, they realize nirvāṇa and depart from this threefold world. Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas all enter the remainderless nirvāṇa at the end of their lifespans. Therefore, Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas do not remain in the human realm to transmit the Dharma of liberation. They do not wish to remain in the world to teach the Dharma and liberate the deluded masses, except for stream-enterers (first fruition) who return to the human realm after seven lifetimes in the heavens. Based on the Four Noble Truths they have cultivated and realized, they teach the Dharma according to conditions to liberate sentient beings. Or once-returners (second fruition) who return to the human realm can only transmit the Four Noble Truths Dharma in that single lifetime and then enter nirvāṇa. Non-returners (third fruition) are reborn in the Pure Abodes in their next life and then enter nirvāṇa; they also cannot widely teach the Dharma and liberate beings. Only enlightened Bodhisattvas can teach the Dharma and liberate sentient beings life after life.

If sentient beings only study the Small Vehicle and Middle Vehicle Dharmas, lacking compassion, only seeking personal liberation, not pitying sentient beings, in the end, there will be no one to transmit the Dharma in this world, no sages to teach the Dharma and propagate the path. All sentient beings will be plunged into the great darkness of ignorance, unable to attain liberation. Bodhisattvas have compassion. They vow to never enter nirvāṇa, never take final extinction, but instead remain in this threefold world life after life, benefiting self and others, teaching the Dharma and liberating people, while also diligently cultivating themselves. Ultimately, they not only achieve Buddhahood themselves but also lead sentient beings together onto the path to Buddhahood. This is the character of a Bodhisattva! The minds of Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas are far inferior to the mind of a Bodhisattva. They only care about their own liberation from suffering; whether sentient beings escape the sea of birth-and-death suffering or not is not their concern, as long as they themselves can leave the three realms. However, after entering the remainderless nirvāṇa, when conditions ripen in the future, they must still emerge from the state of nirvāṇa, return to the Sahā World, turn their minds to the Great Vehicle, cultivate the Great Vehicle, and then liberate immeasurable sentient beings.