The Non-Abiding of the Deluded Mind of the Seventh Consciousness

All dharmas are divided into the original and the acquired, including the mind of non-abiding, the mind of equanimity, the mind of meditative concentration (samādhi), the mind of wisdom, the awakened mind, and so on. The originally non-abiding mind is the true suchness self-nature, the eighth consciousness, the ālayavijñāna, the tathāgatagarbha. No one needs to devise any way to make Him non-abiding; He has always been non-abiding, at all times, in all places, throughout the operation of all dharmas.

The acquired non-abiding mind is the deluded mind of the seven consciousnesses. However, it is extremely difficult for the deluded mind of the seven consciousnesses to achieve non-abiding; it requires not only meditative concentration (dhyāna), but also precepts and great wisdom. If the seven consciousnesses are to be truly, completely, and thoroughly non-abiding—like the tathāgatagarbha—this can only happen after attaining buddhahood. The more evident non-abiding occurs at the stage of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva; somewhat earlier, it occurs after the first-bhūmi bodhisattva stage, when consciousness is transformed into wisdom. Apart from these, at the very minimum one must cultivate to the stage of the first or second dhyāna or above, relying on meditative concentration to temporarily subdue restless agitation, so that the manas and the six consciousnesses do not abide in, or only scarcely abide in, the realms of the six sense objects. Such abiding may be called acquired non-abiding, but it is unreliable and can cease.