The Meaning of "The Dharmadhātu Neither Increases Nor Decreases"

Not increasing and not decreasing has several layers of meaning: the total number of the tathāgatagarbhas of all sentient beings in the dharmadhātu neither increases nor decreases (although the tathāgatagarbha is not counted in numbers, He has an individual attribution and is not shared, so speaking in terms of numbers is merely a convenient expression); the tathāgatagarbha's intrinsic nature, functions, and effects neither increase in the noble ones nor decrease in the ordinary ones; the number of the tathāgatagarbha's seven intrinsically existing great seeds neither increases nor decreases. The six faculties in the dharmadhātu neither increase nor decrease, the six sense objects in the dharmadhātu neither increase nor decrease, the six consciousnesses in the dharmadhātu neither increase nor decrease, and the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness neither increase nor decrease. Because the phenomenal realm is like an illusion, like a conjuration, without any intrinsic substance, it has never increased or decreased; illusory arising and illusory ceasing can never be obtained, hence neither increasing nor decreasing; all dharmas arise from the conjunction of causes and conditions and are not truly existent in themselves—they have never arisen and never ceased—hence neither increasing nor decreasing.

All dharmas are unborn; observing the ocean and the waves makes this relatively easier to understand. The waves are certainly surging and billowing, changing moment by moment, yet no matter how the waves change, they are still the water of the ocean, and the ocean forever neither increases nor decreases, neither arises nor ceases. Waves arise and cease, cease and arise; viewed as a whole, the waves in the ocean are as if they had never arisen or ceased, neither increasing nor decreasing. To be able to understand the dharmadhātu in this way is very wise; although it is the wisdom of the mind consciousness, that is still very good, for it can guide contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and realization.

The tathāgatagarbha neither increases nor decreases, and the manas neither increases nor decreases; the countless transformation bodies and the immeasurable six-consciousness bodies are all subsumed under the tathāgatagarbha and the manas. The transformation bodies are also sentient beings: although the phenomena may increase or decrease, their nature neither increases nor decreases, and the fundamental substance neither increases nor decreases. Although the transformation bodies are also sentient beings, they must likewise be subsumed under the manas's Sambhogakāya (saṃbhoga-kāya); because the manas's Sambhogakāya is unique, the transformation bodies also neither increase nor decrease.

What makes sentient beings sentient beings is that they possess a complete set of equipment, including the eight consciousnesses, and may also include the physical body; the main components are the manas and the tathāgatagarbha, with the seventh and eighth consciousnesses as the primary ones. Since the seventh and eighth consciousnesses neither increase nor decrease, the transformation bodies neither increase nor decrease. The Dharmakāya (dharma-kāya) is the tathāgatagarbha, the Sambhogakāya is the seventh consciousness, the manas, and the Nirmāṇakāya (nirmāṇakāya) is the first six consciousnesses. No matter how many transformation bodies the buddhas and bodhisattvas have, they all exist in dependence on the Dharmakāya and the Sambhogakāya and belong to the Dharmakāya and the Sambhogakāya; a transformation body cannot exist independently. A transformation body by itself cannot be counted as a sentient being, because it lacks self-mastery (avaśatā) and autonomy; therefore the transformation bodies also neither increase nor decrease. In general, the dharmadhātu neither increases nor decreases.