What Is Cultivation?

Is it the consciousness that is ultimately extinguished in practice, or is it the manas? Extinguishing consciousness is the cause, while extinguishing manas is the effect. Although extinguishing manas is the ultimate goal, the starting point must still begin with consciousness. Consciousness dies every night; the consciousness of a vegetative person is also almost perpetually inert, yet they still cannot avoid the three lower realms in future lives, let alone the cycle of the six realms. What does this indicate? It indicates that the authority over life and death lies within the grasp of manas. Therefore, spiritual practice must be directed toward manas: comprehend manas, subdue manas, and eradicate the ignorance within manas.

How, precisely, is the ignorance of manas to be eradicated? Ignorance gives rise to all defilement-mental factors (klesha-caittas). To whom do these defilement-mental factors primarily belong? The ignorance of manas leads to the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death. Which defilement-mental factors does manas lack? If manas lacked all defilement-mental factors, wouldn’t spiritual practice be effortless and joyful?

Some insist that manas is neither wholesome nor unwholesome. Given this, would we still need to practice? The tathāgatagarbha is neither wholesome nor unwholesome; thus, the tathāgatagarbha never practices, nor does it need to practice at all. What is there to cultivate? What correction should it make? It has no ignorance, no unwholesomeness, and no perversity. If the tathāgatagarbha were to practice, it might deviate from the right path, becoming distorted. Both wholesomeness and unwholesomeness stem from ignorance; where there is ignorance, there is inevitably both wholesomeness and unwholesomeness. The tathāgatagarbha is without ignorance; thus, it creates neither wholesome nor unwholesome karmic actions. It responds according to conditions, without deliberate intention. Only with ignorance does hatred arise, leading to the intention to commit acts of killing. Only with ignorance does delusion arise, leading to the creation of killing karma.