The Meaning of Consciousness-Only Without an External Realm

The phrase "Consciousness-Only without objective realms" means that all dharmas are solely consciousness, with no objective realms or appearances of realms. This pertains to the wisdom of Consciousness-Only, which conveys the same meaning as the One True Dharma Realm, yet its principle is profound and difficult to comprehend, let alone observe. Without the wisdom of the path, one can at best attain a superficial understanding.

The "consciousness" in "Consciousness-Only without objective realms" certainly does not refer to the deluded sixth and seventh consciousnesses, for these too are appearances of realms—arising and ceasing without autonomy—and thus cannot dominate other objective realms. Only the eighth consciousness can govern all objective realms. From the perspective of Consciousness-Only wisdom, all dharmas are manifested and sustained by the eighth consciousness, generated through its seven great seeds, which continuously transform to ensure all dharmas accord with karmic seeds and corresponding retributions.

What does "all dharmas are solely consciousness" mean? All dharmas are like gold vessels: their essence is solely gold, with nothing else besides. To see a gold vessel is to see gold. Similarly, all dharmas are generated and sustained by the eighth consciousness; their essence is solely the eighth consciousness. To perceive all dharmas is to perceive the eighth consciousness, with nothing else beyond this.

The "realms" in "Consciousness-Only without objective realms" may also be called dharma appearances. The scope of dharma appearances is vast, encompassing material appearances, mental appearances, and appearances that are neither material nor mental, as described in the Heart Sutra: the six sense faculties (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind), the six dusts (forms, sounds, scents, tastes, tactile objects, dharmas), the six consciousnesses (eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, mind-consciousness), the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness), the Four Noble Truths, the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, the Six Perfections of a Bodhisattva, the Four Appearances, the Buddha-body, the path to Buddhahood, the Hundred Dharma Gate of Illumination, the Thousand Dharma Gate of Illumination, the Billion Dharma Gate of Illumination, ignorance, the exhaustion of ignorance, and so forth. All these dharma appearances are the empty appearances of the Tathāgatagarbha, the eighth consciousness, devoid of any substantial dharma appearances or objective realms.

The dharma appearances and objective realms upon all dharmas are appearances generated by the eighth consciousness; thus, there are no objective realms—all is the eighth consciousness. This contemplative wisdom is exceedingly profound and sharp. Only those who have fully transformed the sixth and seventh consciousnesses into wisdom, possessing the concentration and wisdom attained thereafter, can directly observe this. Otherwise, obscured by heavy ignorance and shallow concentration, one lacks the wisdom of observation and cannot directly perceive the essence of all dharmas, thereby falling into appearances of realms and failing to see the true gold. If concentration and wisdom are insufficient—lacking even the first dhyāna concentration or failing to transform consciousness into wisdom—all observations will fall into imagination and inference.

The deeper and subtler one's concentration and wisdom, the fewer and shallower the objective realms perceived when observing all dharmas. The wisdom of direct perception grows progressively deeper and more ultimate at higher stages, revealing ever truer realities, until at the Buddha stage, one fully perceives the One True Dharma Realm, with no other dharmas to be seen. For any individual, as long as objective realms are perceived with the eyes, this is ignorance. The more objective realms one perceives, the heavier the ignorance; conversely, the fewer objective realms perceived, the deeper and sharper the wisdom.