Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamasūtra) (16)

What does "all dharmas are consciousness-only" mean?

Nothing at all belongs to us; things can only be used by us, only for a period of time, yet we cannot hold on to them. All external dharmas will perish, and our own body of the five aggregates will also perish—who can hold on to anything? We will die, the world will vanish, and nothing is reliable. Even if we never died, the world would still be destroyed; when the earth is destroyed, when the universe and empty space are all destroyed, the physical body would have no space left to dwell in. Therefore, none of the dharmas—including ourselves—can be clung to; nothing can be grasped. Gold, silver, and jewels are also composed of the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind; they are also manifested by the tathāgatagarbha, and when the conditions cease, they vanish—even the trichiliocosm (three thousand great thousand worlds) will be destroyed.

If there were no earth element, from where would that property of hardness come? If there were no tathāgatagarbha, there would be no earth element; all dharmas are manifested by the tathāgatagarbha, and the source of all dharmas is the tathāgatagarbha. Knowing that all dharmas are illusory—this is what is called "all dharmas are consciousness-only."