The Meaning of "Abiding Nowhere, the Mind Arises"

The "mind" in the Diamond Sutra's phrase "abiding nowhere, give rise to the mind" refers to the inherently pure mind, the true mind of Tathagatagarbha. It does not mean the conscious mind abiding nowhere while responding to all dharmas, nor does it mean that cultivating the conscious mind to abide nowhere constitutes enlightenment. Such a state does not belong to the realization of enlightenment through understanding the mind. Understanding whether the conscious mind abides or not is unrelated to the prajna-wisdom of Tathagatagarbha. The conscious mind is only abiding nowhere when it ceases to exist; as long as it exists, it must abide on dharma-dhatu (objects of the mind). Otherwise, it would not know the dharma-dhatu, would not know its own state of non-abiding, and would not know whether it is in meditative absorption or not. If it knows it is in absorption, or knows it is abiding nowhere, then it is abiding on the dharma-dhatu of "non-abiding".

Enlightenment is the realization of the inherently pure mind. When the Sixth Patriarch heard the Fifth Patriarch expound the Diamond Sutra, he too realized this inherently pure mind that is fundamentally abiding nowhere. "Abiding nowhere, give rise to the mind" does not refer to a momentary state where the mind suddenly becomes non-abiding and pure for an instant, and that this mind at that moment is the true mind, the inherent nature of Tathagatagarbha, constituting an enlightened state. For if, after a while, the mind becomes impure and abides again, wouldn't the state of enlightenment disappear? If enlightenment meant realizing the non-abiding of the conscious mind, then the Sixth Patriarch would not have realized the inherently pure mind that is fundamentally abiding nowhere, and thus would not have been enlightened.

However, the Sixth Patriarch absolutely did not realize the non-abiding of the conscious mind. Instead, he realized the true mind, the inherently non-abiding eighth consciousness. This mind does not require you to make it abide nowhere; it is inherently non-abiding, never abiding on any dharma whatsoever. Therefore, the "mind" in "abiding nowhere, give rise to the mind" is precisely the true mind, Tathagatagarbha. Tathagatagarbha is inherently non-abiding; it is not something cultivated later or transformed into non-abiding. As long as the first seven consciousnesses exist, they abide; they all have corresponding phenomenal appearances (dharma-dhatu) upon which they dwell. If the seven consciousnesses did not abide on phenomena, they would not know the phenomenal appearances. Since they know, it means they abide. For example, when two hands touch, if they did not abide, there would be no touch; the moment there is touch, abiding has occurred. If it were non-abiding, the body consciousness and mental consciousness would not know that the hands touched each other. Only when the three – sense faculty, object, and consciousness – come together in contact does the consciousness know the six sense objects. The consciousness must contact the object to know it. This knowing is discrimination, discernment; it is the result after abiding on the object.