Is Not Severing Afflictions and Not Seeking Liberation the Practice of Mahāyāna Bodhisattvas?

Some people say that the practice of Mahāyāna bodhisattvas is completely different from that of the Small Vehicle practitioners: Small Vehicle practitioners seek to eliminate afflictions and seek liberation, while Mahāyāna bodhisattvas, like the tathāgatagarbha, should neither eliminate afflictions nor seek liberation. But does the tathāgatagarbha have any afflictions to eliminate? Has the tathāgatagarbha been bound by any dharma? The tathāgatagarbha originally has no afflictions and is intrinsically liberated; the tathāgatagarbha has no ignorance, and therefore there is no cessation of ignorance. It is the seventh consciousness that has afflictions and thus must eliminate afflictions; it is the seventh consciousness that is not liberated and thus must seek liberation; it is the seventh consciousness that has ignorance and thus must break through ignorance. Moreover, not to mention the fundamental afflictions a Mahāyāna bodhisattva may have, there are also the eight great universal afflictions—lack of faith, laziness, non-diligence, torpor, restlessness, loss of mindfulness, lack of clear comprehension, and distraction—together with the two medium universal afflictions of shamelessness and lack of remorse, all blatantly displayed before the world. What kind of bodhisattva is this? When the mind does not correspond to even one of the eleven wholesome mental factors, what kind of Mahāyāna bodhisattva is this? Can such a bodhisattva serve as a model and exemplar for sentient beings? What can the vast multitude of sentient beings learn by following such a bodhisattva? If this perverse trend of seeking only fruits, benefits, and fame while refusing liberation and genuine merit is not curbed, Buddhism will surely perish swiftly.