The transformation of the essential object is called the object of doubt (daizhi-jing)

Question: After a single tathāgatagarbha conditions upon the essential object (essence-object), can the resulting representation still be called an essential object? Can the material body formed by a single tathāgatagarbha be called an essential object? When the information discerned by the six consciousnesses is to be transmitted to the manas, is the mode of transmission that the eighth consciousness forms mental objects (dharmāyatana), which the manas then discerns and thereby learns of?

Answer: The representation formed after the tathāgatagarbha conditions upon any essential object belongs to the object-with-essence (bandhya-ālambana); it is no longer an essential object. The essential object is the sense-object initially formed by the tathāgatagarbha; when the tathāgatagarbha further manifests sense-objects using this as a substrate, the nature has changed, and it is called an object-with-essence, which the manas can contact and discern. Each material body is an essential object produced by the tathāgatagarbha, and only the tathāgatagarbha can contact and discern it. When the tathāgatagarbha subsequently forms a material body as an object-with-essence, the manas can contact and discern it. After it reaches the supreme faculty, it forms a real-object (nature-object) that the five consciousnesses can discern, and it forms an Image-Only Object that the mind consciousness can discern. The information transmitted by the six consciousnesses is mental objects belonging to the Image-Only Object, formless and without appearance, distinct from the mental objects manifested upon the five sense-objects.

These dharmas—object-with-essence, real-object, and Image-Only Object—belong to the seed-wisdom (bīja-jñāna) of Yogācāra, which is cultivated and realized by bodhisattvas who have attained the bhūmis. I have not yet fully understood it myself; what use is it for you worldlings to study it every day? First, it is fine to go through all the dharmas once, to have a general grasp, and to clarify the concepts and names and labels—there is nothing wrong with that; each person manages their own affairs. You must handle well the sense of proportion and the allocation of time and energy. If you feel that cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness is beneficial, you may also begin that at the same time; meditative concentration (samādhi) absolutely must be cultivated.

During the stage of studying the Dharma, in essence one is not learning knowledge. Studying the Dharma is not the accumulation of knowledge. Those who truly know how to study do not look at the finger pointing at the moon, but at the bright moon that the finger points to. What is the bright moon? It is emptiness, it is emptiness (śūnyatā). If, while studying the Dharma, one exclaims: "This Dharma is so wonderful!" and considers this Dharma interesting, profound, and mysterious, without seeing that this Dharma reveals the emptiness and selflessness of worldly phenomena, then such study and cultivation will only increase the mind of pride and increase self-view (ātma-dṛṣṭi) and self-grasping. Studying the Dharma this way is of no benefit, yet it consumes a great deal of time. At present, that portion of the Buddhist community studying Mahāyāna Dharma is in exactly this state: after decades of study, it is of no benefit to sentient beings or to Buddhism, and there is even a certain degree of harm, damaging the root and foundation of Buddhism.

If you wish to cultivate and study responsibly toward yourself, then on the basis of a preliminary understanding of both the Mahāyāna and the Hīnayāna, you should begin actual practice from the foundational Hīnayāna Dharma. In actual practice, do not skip steps, do not aim too high; be down-to-earth and steadfast, and only then will there be hope in this life of attaining initial liberation. Otherwise, merely engaging in research is a waste of life, gaining nothing. You must turn the light inward and examine your own mind, asking yourself: what am I really studying the Dharma for? Is it for interest and hobby, for collecting knowledge, or for liberation in the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, to achieve some accomplishment?