The Six Consciousnesses Have No Self-Nature

The six consciousnesses lack self-nature; they cannot determine anything by themselves and cannot be their own master, because the six consciousnesses are dharmas that are brought into being—therefore they are without substance and lack self-mastery (avaśatā), and their surface-level functions and operations are all endowed by the tathāgatagarbha, all coming from the tathāgatagarbha. If any dharma has a self-nature, it too comes from the tathāgatagarbha; objectively speaking, it is also the self-nature of the tathāgatagarbha. The source of the defilement of the six consciousnesses lies in the manas and comes from the manas: if the manas is defiled, the six consciousnesses are inevitably defiled; if the manas is pure, the six consciousnesses are inevitably pure. The manas is the basis of defilement and purity for the six consciousnesses. The arising and manifesting of all dharmas necessarily involves the accompaniment of the seventh and eighth consciousnesses; it is the result of the operation of the seventh and eighth consciousnesses.