All Dharmas Are the Nature of Tathāgatagarbha

The Buddha said in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra that the brightness of daytime is also not the sun's color. Then where does the light of a flashlight come from?

The Buddha said in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra: （一切法都是）非自然性，非因缘性，皆是如来藏性。The World-Honored One deliberately gave examples to illustrate that although the sun shines in the sky, the brightness does not come from the sun; rather, brightness is intrinsically the nature of tathāgatagarbha. This means that the sun's shining is a surface phenomenon: there is no brightness inside the sun, and there is no brightness in empty space, yet some sentient beings with the requisite affinity can see brightness, which shows that brightness comes from the tathāgatagarbha. Brightness relies on the sun as a condition and is produced by the tathāgatagarbha. Brightness is material form, constituted by the seeds of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind. Only the tathāgatagarbha contains the seeds of the four great elements and can form brightness; the sun and empty space have no seeds of the four great elements and cannot produce brightness. Therefore, brightness is the nature of tathāgatagarbha.

By the same reasoning, the light of a flashlight does not come from the flashlight itself; it relies on the flashlight as a condition and is produced by the tathāgatagarbha. This light is also constituted by the seeds of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind. The flashlight has no seeds of the four great elements, and empty space has no seeds of the four great elements; the light can only be formed by the tathāgatagarbha and comes from the tathāgatagarbha. On the surface, the myriad things appear to be generated by some thing, but in fact the Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna said in the Madhyamaka Śāstra: all dharmas do not arise from themselves, nor do they arise from another, nor do they arise without cause. This shows that all are produced by the tathāgatagarbha, and this is the realized content of the wisdom of the varieties of paths of bhūmika bodhisattvas.

For example, vegetation appears on the surface to be produced from the seeds of the vegetation, but in fact the seeds of the vegetation are also produced by the tathāgatagarbha. The seeds of vegetation have no self-existing existence, and therefore cannot produce other dharmas, because they lack the seeds of the four great elements. Vegetation is not directly born from the seeds of vegetation; rather, relying on the seeds of vegetation, it is born from the tathāgatagarbha. Seeds producing vegetation is a surface illusion; in reality, everything is produced by the tathāgatagarbha using the seeds of the four great elements. It is like a child who appears on the surface to be born of the parents, but is in fact born from his own tathāgatagarbha.

Take another example: tables, chairs, and benches appear on the surface to be made and generated from wooden boards, but in fact they are formed by the seeds of the four great elements of the tathāgatagarbha, and the wooden boards are also generated by the seeds of the four great elements of the tathāgatagarbha. That which is produced has no self-nature and therefore cannot give birth to other dharmas. Another example: a house seems to be generated by the combination of bricks, tiles, and earth, but in fact it is formed by the seeds of the four great elements of the tathāgatagarbha and is produced by the tathāgatagarbha. Including the various materials that make up the house, all are generated by the seeds of the four great elements of the tathāgatagarbha—all are the nature of tathāgatagarbha. The formation of all dharmas, ultimately and at the very beginning, must be traced back to the tathāgatagarbha; then there is not the slightest error, and it accords with the truth spoken by the World-Honored One that all are the nature of tathāgatagarbha. Such a one is a true child of the Buddha, not of the lineage of the non-Buddhists.

This world, that world—no matter what world it is; this thing, that thing—no matter what thing it is, all are directly transformed and fashioned by the tathāgatagarbha. But the credit does not all belong to the tathāgatagarbha; the manas has a share in it. If not for the attention (manaskāra) and volition (cetanā) of the manas, the kliṣṭa-manas, the tathāgatagarbha could do nothing; no matter how many abilities He has, He would have no means to act. This first transformative consciousness (parināma) and the second transformative consciousness, in combination, evolve and produce all the myriad dharmas. The tathāgatagarbha knows the mental activities of the kliṣṭa-manas, is selfless and without self, while the kliṣṭa-manas grasps all the credit, claiming "me, me, me"—like a thief stealing another's wealth. Nor can the third transformative consciousness be absent here: the mind consciousness constantly plans and schemes, analyzes and reasons about what would benefit itself, and then informs the manas, offering strategies and counsel. The manas, having learned of it, deliberates (manasikāra/manana) without cease, finally makes the decision, the six consciousnesses execute it, and in the end the manas enjoys the results. The tathāgatagarbha stands outside the circle, watching all of this as if it had nothing to do with Him—truly a master of tranquility (praśama).