Section Five: The True Mind is Empty and Quiescent, Devoid of Suffering, Its Cause, Cessation, and the Path

Sutra: [(The Tathagatagarbha) is devoid of suffering, its cause, cessation, and the path.] Suffering, its cause, cessation, and the path constitute the principles of the "Four Noble Truths" of the path to liberation. They include: the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the cessation of suffering, and the truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering. "Truth" (谛) signifies the genuine principle. This is the Dharma that the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses of sentient beings should cultivate. The Tathagatagarbha does not need cultivation because it is devoid of suffering, its cause, cessation, and the path.

The truth of suffering refers to the truth concerning the sufferings of the world, including the three sufferings, the eight sufferings, and immeasurable sufferings. The three sufferings are the suffering of change (行苦), the suffering of decay (坏苦), and the suffering of suffering (苦苦). The eight sufferings are the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, and distress; the suffering of not getting what one desires; the suffering of separation from loved ones; the suffering of encountering the disliked; and the suffering of the flourishing of the five aggregates. From these eight sufferings, immeasurable and boundless sufferings further arise. Our sufferings are too numerous. If one is wise, upon careful analysis, one finds no aspect of worldly existence that is free from suffering. Everywhere there is bondage, everywhere there is affliction. Yet sentient beings still cling to these sufferings and are unwilling to learn the Buddha's teachings and cultivate to seek liberation.

How do sufferings arise? These sufferings are brought about by the bodily, verbal, and mental karmas we accumulate and create. At the very moment bodily, verbal, and mental karmas are created, the Tathagatagarbha stores the karmic seeds. After storage, when the karmic conditions mature, the Tathagatagarbha outputs the karmic seeds, and the karmic fruit of suffering manifests. Suffering is brought about by the bodily, verbal, and mental karmic actions accumulated by sentient beings over countless kalpas. Sentient beings create unwholesome karma life after life and suffer the retribution life after life. Learning the Buddha's teachings and cultivating is precisely to prevent the conditions for major unwholesome karma from becoming complete, causing the unwholesome karmic seeds to gradually wither. In the future, by undergoing minor retribution, the major unwholesome karma is eliminated; or, by cultivating until one has the capacity to endure, one undergoes the retribution then, making it easier. For example, upon attaining the first fruit of the Small Vehicle (Sravakayana), severing the three fetters, the unwholesome karma leading to the three evil destinies accumulated over countless kalpas is eliminated, and one only undergoes minor suffering in the human realm as a substitute. The karma created by sentient beings over countless kalpas, if each and every one had to be repaid, could never be fully exhausted even by the time of Buddhahood. It can only be that when our cultivation becomes effective, we eliminate part of the unwholesome karma; upon attaining fruition, another part is eliminated; upon enlightenment, another part is eliminated; upon entering the first bhumi (ground), another part is eliminated; upon attaining samadhi through Buddha-recitation, another part is eliminated; upon reciting sutras and mantras, yet another part is eliminated. Nevertheless, immeasurable karmic seeds still remain stored in the Tathagatagarbha, and when conditions mature in the future, the retribution must be endured.

Sentient beings endure karmic retribution life after life. Even when practicing the Bodhisattva path, one must endure some karmic retribution suffering. After enduring it, the karmic condition is resolved. Before attaining Buddhahood, all karmic obstructions must be completely exhausted. Our cultivation is precisely to eliminate the seeds of major unwholesome karma, to make wholesome karma exceed unwholesome karma, to prevent the conditions for suffering retribution from ever becoming complete, and to cause the conditions for wholesome karma to continuously increase, so that one always receives wholesome retribution. Over time, some unwholesome karmic seeds will wither. The more diligent and effective the cultivation, the more and faster unwholesome karma is eliminated. When all unwholesome karma is exhausted, one attains Buddhahood.

Some who have created karma leading to the Avici Hell, upon attaining the lowest grade of rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, dwell within a lotus for twelve great kalpas of the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Dwelling for such a long time is precisely to eliminate those hellish karmic seeds, ensuring that the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion never manifest again. For a long time without the conditions for unwholesome karma to manifest, the unwholesome karmic seeds wither. Also, due to the prolonged absence of conditions for creating unwholesome karma, the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion are gradually subdued. When the mind gradually becomes pure, one emerges from the lotus to meet the transformation bodies of Bodhisattvas and hear the Dharma. How long is twelve great kalpas in the Land of Ultimate Bliss equivalent to in the Saha World? It is truly incalculable, because one day in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is equivalent to one great kalpa in our world. Due to heavy unwholesome karma, such beings cannot see the Buddha when the lotus blooms; they can only see the transformation bodies of Bodhisattvas expounding the Dharma to them.

The various sufferings endured by sentient beings are all brought about by the Tathagatagarbha collecting the seeds of karmic actions and, when conditions mature, causing those karmic seeds to manifest. To eliminate these sufferings, one must cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path, which consists of: right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, right thought, and right view. Both the Great and Small Vehicles cultivate the Eightfold Path, though there are some differences in connotation and level. Before studying the correct principles, most of the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of ordinary sentient beings are unwholesome. Therefore, it is necessary to cultivate the Eightfold Path; only after cultivating well and attaining fruition can suffering be extinguished. We should constantly reflect and examine ourselves against the Buddha's teachings and the Eightfold Path. Sentient beings, before attaining fruition or realizing the enlightened mind, have extremely many unwholesome bodily, verbal, and mental actions, hence they experience suffering. This is all due to heavy self-view and self-attachment, creating unwholesome karma because of the self.

Why is the Tathagatagarbha devoid of suffering? Because the Tathagatagarbha never creates wholesome or unwholesome karma and thus does not receive wholesome or unwholesome karmic retribution. Therefore, it has no suffering retribution and does not suffer. If it had suffering, the Tathagatagarbha would not be pure. Since the Tathagatagarbha does not create karmas of affliction, it does not accumulate suffering for its future existences and does not attract the experience of suffering in future lives. Because the Tathagatagarbha has no suffering and no cause of suffering, it does not need to cultivate the path to extinguish suffering; it has no truth of the cessation of suffering and no truth of the path to cessation; it does not need to cultivate the Four Noble Truths of suffering, its cause, cessation, and the path. What the Tathagatagarbha collects are the karmic seeds of the actions of the sentient beings' five aggregates. It itself has no karmic actions, hence no seeds of karmic actions, and thus no "accumulation" (集). The Eightfold Path is for the five-aggregate body to cultivate. The Tathagatagarbha never treads unwholesome paths; therefore, it does not need to cultivate the Eightfold Path. It is perfectly complete in all dharmas.