The entire earth is the body of the Dharma King

The entire earth is the body of the Dharma King, truly without falsehood. Every place, even as small as a speck of dust, is where the Dharma King abides and upholds. Every dharma is True Suchness; every particle is True Suchness. What do all dharmas encompass? They encompass all dharmas of the three realms: from the vast trichiliocosm and the universe's empty space, down to minute dust and bacteria—all are True Suchness. The essence of the West is found upon the heads of a hundred blades of grass; not a single blade of grass or strand of silk is separate from the self-nature, nor divorced from True Suchness. To realize this state is to have entered the Tathāgata’s household, having cultivated for an exceedingly long period.

Why is every dharma True Suchness? Because all dharmas are generated from the seven great elements within the Tathāgatagarbha, the True Suchness mind-essence. Not a single dharma can exist apart from these seven great elements. The seven great elements pervade the world, pervade the Lotus Treasury World, pervade the ocean of worlds, and pervade the One True Dharma Realm.

The seven great elements are like the emperor’s yellow robe, while the Tathāgatagarbha is like the emperor himself. As the emperor moves throughout the world, the yellow robe never leaves his body. Seeing the yellow robe, one knows the emperor has appeared. Nowhere in the world is not the soil of the Tathāgatagarbha; there is no place it cannot reach, no place it does not dwell, no place without its presence, and no dharma that is not it. From the sky above to the earth below, all is it. The mountains, rivers, and earth reveal the Dharma King’s body; all are manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha, and all exist solely by relying on the Tathāgatagarbha’s upholding.

Verdant bamboo is none other than prajñā; luxuriant yellow flowers are entirely the Dharmakāya. The entire world is Buddha. To truly understand and realize these words requires reaching the stage of the First Ground or above. For such a one, within the world and beyond, there is not a single dharma, not a single place, not a single moment that is not True Suchness. Every dharma is True Suchness. This is the direct realization of a Bodhisattva on the Grounds. In the world, not a single dharma can exist independently or stand alone; all are transformed by True Suchness and upheld by True Suchness. Whether arising, ceasing, or undergoing any transformation, all is the doing of True Suchness.