Seen through to the very end, the dharma of arising and ceasing is the unborn and unceasing dharma—the tathāgatagarbha

All dharmas are divided into conventional truth and ultimate truth. Conventional truth can be observed from appearances, and these appearances are illusory projections, transformed false appearances with extremely many illusory functions. Although they have functions on the surface of phenomena, they are still unreal and false. For example, the five aggregates of sentient beings: the aggregate of form has its illusory functions, which is undeniable; yet although it has functions, it is still conditioned dharma subject to arising and ceasing, not true dharma—it cannot be taken as real, and one must not cling to it. The aggregates of feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are all like this: they have undeniable illusory functions, and are likewise unreal and illusory.

These illusory false appearances are merely aggregated from various conditions—dependent arising and emptiness of nature. Who aggregated them? It is the tathāgatagarbha that aggregated them. In accordance with the karmic seeds of sentient beings, the tathāgatagarbha uses the seeds of the four great elements and the seven intrinsically existing great seeds to aggregate all dharmas of the five-aggregate world, which on the surface are of course all subject to arising and ceasing. In substance, however, these conditioned dharmas subject to arising and ceasing are all made from the materials within the tathāgatagarbha; in essence they all belong to the tathāgatagarbha, and not a single one falls outside of it. Thus, from the perspective of essence, all conditioned dharmas subject to arising and ceasing are in fact the tathāgatagarbha, which neither arises nor ceases; depending on the tathāgatagarbha, they do not arise or cease, because the seeds of the seven great elements that form these conditioned dharmas neither arise nor cease, and can forever transform and fabricate these conditioned dharmas. Therefore, dharmas subject to arising and ceasing are ultimately non-arising and non-ceasing.