What Does It Mean to Directly Realize Tathāgatagarbha?

Question: After realizing the tathāgatagarbha, one can directly realize its essential nature. How should this "direct realization" be understood? Is it observed with the conscious mind, or with the flesh eyes born of one's father and mother?

Answer: The tathāgatagarbha is formless and without marks, so it certainly cannot be observed by the flesh eyes, because the eye consciousness can only see material form with physical substance; only the conscious mind can observe Him. When the conscious mind gives rise to great wisdom, it can observe the operational characteristics of the tathāgatagarbha. After observing, we can know His various essential natures, and we then know how, in every aspect, He cooperates with the seven consciousnesses and the five aggregates to accomplish all dharmas.

In this way, one possesses the wisdom of the specific characteristics pertaining to the tathāgatagarbha, and further, this can give rise to our wisdom of the varieties of paths. When the wisdom of the varieties of paths is complete and fully endowed, omniscience is accomplished, and at that time one is a perfectly complete Buddha.

Because the tathāgatagarbha has operational characteristics in the course of His functioning, and these operational characteristics are the dharma-marks, only the conscious mind can discern and realize these dharma-marks; this is the function and role of the conscious mind's perceiving-aspect (darśana-bhāga) and self-cognition (svasaṃvitti). The operations of the eight consciousnesses themselves all have operational characteristics, and the conscious mind can discern and observe them all. When the conscious mind observes its own operation, that is self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana); it can verify its own existence and functioning, as well as the state it itself is in—this is called introspection. This introspective nature (pratyavekṣā-lakṣaṇa) of the other consciousnesses cannot be observed before enlightenment, and is also very difficult to observe before attaining the bhūmis.