Can Ordinary Beings Transform the Basis as Tathāgatagarbha?

The initial success of the transformation of the basis as tathāgatagarbha (āśraya-parāvṛtti-tathāgatagarbha) occurs at the stage of a bodhisattva on the first bhūmi; pre‑bhūmi bodhisattvas (pūrvabhūmika bodhisattva) are all striving to transform the basis, learning how to transform it. Ordinary beings, because they have not realized the tathāgatagarbha, cannot rely upon it—they do not know where the tathāgatagarbha is or what its characteristics are, so how could they lean on it? It is like leaning on empty space; the tathāgatagarbha one imagines is not something actually visible and cannot be relied upon.

Moreover, ordinary beings also cannot actively make use of the tathāgatagarbha. Not knowing where the tathāgatagarbha is, what characteristics it has, or what functions it performs, how could they utilize the tathāgatagarbha? Everyone is merely imagining the tathāgatagarbha—this is called conjecture and fantasy, also called guessing. It is permissible for ordinary beings to guess, and even to guess seven or eight parts correctly, but it is of no use; the moment the mind consciousness ceases, everything before one's eyes turns pitch black, and one is left bewildered and at a loss.

The hallmark of successful transformation of the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti) is that the mind's nature has changed, becoming similar to the mind-nature of the tathāgatagarbha, with afflictions eradicated and wisdom grown. The transformation of the basis has not yet succeeded, but one is changing oneself bit by bit, subduing one's afflictions, and gradually increasing wisdom; when this accumulates to a certain degree and reaches a qualitative leap—afflictions eradicated and the sixth and seventh consciousnesses transformed into wisdom—only then is the transformation of the basis successful, and even that is only initial. With complete transformation of the basis, one becomes a Buddha. Therefore, one cannot use whether the transformation of the basis has succeeded as the criterion for judging whether one has seen the mind and attained enlightenment. Seeing the mind and enlightenment have their own criteria and content, and transformation of the basis is not among those criteria.

The Buddha-dharma has been thrown into great confusion, and the reason for the confusion is that many people have never walked that path; they rely on understanding, inference, and guesswork. Even if their guessing is eight or nine parts close to the truth, it is still quite inaccurate, because after all they have not seen it with their own eyes, and their minds certainly cannot feel settled. A tiger drawn by copying a cat is, after all, not a tiger.