Can the Tathāgatagarbha Be Relinquished?

Question: In the Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi-śāstra, it is stated: "(The Tathāgatagarbha) is also called the maturation-consciousness (vipāka-vijñāna), because it induces the karmic fruition of virtuous and non-virtuous actions that lead to birth and death. This designation applies only to ordinary beings (pṛthagjana), the two vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha), and bodhisattvas up to the tenth stage; it does not apply to the Buddha-ground (buddhāvataṃsaka), because there still exists the maturation-consciousness, which is non-defined (avyākṛta)." And: "The substance (dravya) of the maturation-consciousness is discarded when a bodhisattva is about to attain enlightenment (bodhi), and when śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas enter the nirvāṇa without remainder (nirupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa)." Do these two statements contradict each other? After an arhat enters nirvāṇa without remainder, is he still an arhat? Does he belong to the two vehicles? Especially regarding the second sentence: Can the substance of the maturation-consciousness be discarded?

Answer: For bodhisattvas before the eighth stage (bhūmi), their Tathāgatagarbha is called the ālaya-consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna). After the eighth-stage bodhisattva and after śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas enter nirvāṇa, their Tathāgatagarbha is called the maturation-consciousness. When śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas enter nirvāṇa without remainder, they discard the name "ālaya-consciousness," not the substance of the ālaya-consciousness; even less do they discard the substance of the maturation-consciousness. When a bodhisattva at the stage of Wonderful Enlightenment (miàojué púsà) is about to become a Buddha, they discard the designation "maturation-consciousness" for the Tathāgatagarbha; they cannot discard the substance of the maturation-consciousness. The substance is truly existent, neither arising nor ceasing; even a Buddha cannot discard it, let alone a bodhisattva. If the substance of the maturation-consciousness were discarded, all dharmas would cease to exist and could no longer be produced; there would forever be no more five aggregates (skandhas), no nirvāṇa, and no Buddhas or worlds. Only Buddhas, who have eliminated all karmic maturation (vipāka) and eradicated all ignorance (avidyā), can discard the name "maturation-consciousness." Even a bodhisattva at the stage of Equal Enlightenment (dēngjué púsà) cannot discard the name "maturation-consciousness," much less arhats, pratyekabuddhas, or solitary buddhas (pratyekabuddha).