An Explanation of the Pure Dharma Realm and the Four Wisdoms

After attaining buddhahood, the four wisdoms are perfectly clear. First, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses undergo the third transformation of consciousness into wisdom; the five sense consciousnesses undergo the first—and also the last—transformation of consciousness into wisdom; and the eighth consciousness undergoes the first—and also the last—transformation of consciousness into wisdom. The mind consciousness is transformed into the wisdom of wonderful observation, the seventh consciousness into the wisdom of equality, the five sense consciousnesses into the wisdom of accomplishing what is to be done, and the eighth consciousness into the great perfect mirror wisdom. First, the mind consciousness is transformed from consciousness into wisdom: the defiled mind, which originally possessed ignorance and afflictions, is transformed into the wisdom of wonderful observation, which is no longer obscured by afflictions. When there is defilement by afflictions, there is obscuration, which obstructs the arising of wisdom; the power of observation is coarse and not subtle, and the wisdom is shallow.

If the mind consciousness's power of observation is shallow and not subtle, it cannot convey the profound true reality of all dharmas to the manas for the manas to know. Then the manas's view of the self of dharmas cannot be eliminated, and as long as there is a self in the mind, there is no wisdom of equality. Therefore, only when the mind consciousness first eliminates afflictions and possesses the wisdom of wonderful observation can the manas eliminate its afflictions and realize a certain degree of the non-self of dharmas, thereby attaining the wisdom of equality—observing that sentient beings are equal and identical to oneself, and equal and identical to the Buddha, seeing no distinction of high or low among dharmas.

When the sixth and seventh consciousnesses undergo the third transformation of consciousness into wisdom, the transformation is ultimate and complete: ignorance is exhausted. The five sense consciousnesses are transformed into the wisdom of accomplishing what is to be done, accomplishing all dharmas; and the ignorance and defilement of the seventh consciousness stored in the eighth consciousness are ultimately and completely eliminated, being transformed into the great perfect mirror wisdom. At this point, the metamorphosis is complete: a sentient being of the causal stage has transformed into a buddha of the resultant stage.

Because the great perfect mirror wisdom no longer contains karmic seeds of ignorance and defilement, the mind-ground of the eight consciousnesses is entirely supremely pure. All dharmadhātus born from the pure mind are pure—the six faculties, six sense objects, six consciousnesses, the Buddha-land, and the material world—all are purified in accordance with the pure mind, without a single trace of defilement. "As the mind is purified, the Buddha-land is pure"—this is precisely the principle.