The Gap Between the Realization of Tathāgatagarbha and the Successful Transformation of the Basis as Tathāgatagarbha

Realizing the tathāgatagarbha is the prerequisite, and successful transformation of the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti) is the result; between the prerequisite and the result lies a long duration of nearly one incalculable eon. After enlightenment, one can directly observe the functioning of the tathāgatagarbha within the body of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha); once the wisdom of differentiated characteristics arises, one's wisdom becomes ever deeper and subtler, and one's observation of the tathāgatagarbha becomes ever more meticulous and penetrating. In this observation, one will discover that the five aggregates are increasingly unreal, and one's attachment to the body of the five aggregates grows ever lighter and fainter; at the same time, one can also observe the pure and unconditioned nature of the tathāgatagarbha in its functioning, as well as its conditioned nature that is without self and without afflictions.

Whether it is the pure and unconditioned nature of the tathāgatagarbha or its conditioned nature free of afflictions, both are extremely pure and selfless, excellent qualities; the sixth and seventh consciousnesses will imperceptibly be influenced and nurtured by them, and the mental disposition will undergo change without one's awareness, increasingly inclining toward the mental disposition of the tathāgatagarbha—this is what is called the transformation of the basis as tathāgatagarbha (āśraya-parāvṛtti-tathāgatagarbha). Although one is relying on the tathāgatagarbha to transform one's own mental disposition, one has not yet gone from quantitative change to qualitative change; the accumulation of quantity is not yet sufficient to change one's mental disposition in essence and in actuality, so the reliance on the tathāgatagarbha is not yet successful.

What are the signs of successful transformation of the basis? The signs of success mainly lie in the transformation of the mental disposition: afflictions eliminated, the mind-ground pure, precepts, meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom fully possessed, a mind of vast capacity, vast and profound vows, selflessness and fearlessness, without self and without contrivance. The precepts are manifested in the perfect observance of the bodhisattva precepts: the precepts with marks can be naturally kept in full without violation, without the need for the mind consciousness to suppress and control—acting naturally, everything accords with the precept-dharma. With the transformation of the mind-ground, bodily, verbal, and mental actions are naturally pure, and afterward one naturally transitions to the observance of the markless precepts. The mind is the master of all things; when the mind is pure, everything is pure. Only when the mind-ground is pure and without afflictions does one have the ability and qualification to observe the markless precepts; one who has not yet eradicated afflictions cannot uphold the markless precepts, because the mind cannot discipline itself.

In meditative concentration, one must possess dhyāna from the first dhyāna up through the fourth dhyāna, because only by possessing the first dhyāna concentration can the mind-ground be guaranteed to be pure and free of afflictions, and only then can profound wisdom arise. Without the first dhyāna concentration, afflictions will inevitably manifest; even the precepts with marks cannot be guaranteed to be unviolated, let alone is there the qualification and ability to uphold the markless precepts, because the mind-ground is impure and afflictions are heavy. In terms of wisdom, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses have both transformed consciousness into wisdom, possessing profound seed-wisdom of consciousness-only (yogācāra), knowing that all dharmas are consciousness alone and nothing else.

A bodhisattva whose mind-ground has successfully transformed the basis can, like the tathāgatagarbha, be both conditioned and unconditioned: when conditioned, without selfishness; when unconditioned, without self. The conditioned and the unconditioned, selflessness and non-selfishness, can be perfectly combined without contradiction. Because meditative concentration and wisdom are deep, the mind is empty and markless; being markless, it is unconditioned, not craving worldly dharmas; the mind turns away from the mundane, does nothing, is markless, vowless, and without contrivance. Yet the mind can also compassionately pity sentient beings, propagating the Dharma and benefiting beings not for selfish gain, but to repay the Buddha's kindness, vowing to continue the Buddha's lineage, making the Ten Great Vows Without End, inheriting the family enterprise of the Tathāgata, widely delivering boundless sentient beings, throughout the future, never ceasing.