The Profound Yogācāra Meaning of the Diamond Sutra (130)

Original text:须菩提。汝若作是念。发阿耨多罗三藐三菩提心者。说诸法断灭。莫作是念。何以故。发阿耨多罗三藐三菩提心者。于法不说断灭相。

Explanation: The World-Honored One said to Subhūti: Subhūti, if you have this thought in your mind—that one who has generated the mind of anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi would say that all dharmas are annihilatory emptiness, that originally nothing exists, that at the time of buddhahood there are no dharmas at all and one does not possess the marks of all dharmas—then quickly extinguish such a thought; do not hold such a notion. Why should one not hold such a notion? Because one who has generated the mind of anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi is able to give rise to the aspiration for buddhahood precisely because of faith in and acceptance of the true mind of suchness, which neither arises nor ceases; such a person would not again say that all dharmas are subject to annihilation.

One who genuinely aspires to become a Buddha has, at this point, already fulfilled the conditions of the stages of faith as a bodhisattva; he will already have unwavering conviction that every sentient being possesses the true mind of suchness, the tathāgatagarbha, which neither arises nor ceases. He believes that the Buddhas of the ten directions all possess the true mind of suchness, the tathāgatagarbha, and that it is only by cultivating in accordance with this tathāgatagarbha that anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi can be accomplished. He believes that he himself also possesses the true mind of suchness, the tathāgatagarbha, that in the future he will be able to realize and awaken to the tathāgatagarbha, and that, like all the Buddhas, he can attain buddhahood. Sentient beings throughout the worlds of the ten directions, because they possess the vajra mind (Vajracitta), the tathāgatagarbha, which neither arises nor ceases, can all likewise attain buddhahood. Because he gives rise to such faith, the ten stages of faith are fulfilled, and he enters the ten stages of abiding and begins to cultivate the bodhisattva practices of the six pāramitās. If one does not believe that one's own body possesses the tathāgatagarbha, does not believe that the tathāgatagarbha truly exists, then his faith in the Buddha, in the Dharma, and in the Three Jewels is not yet fulfilled; the cultivation of the ten stages of faith is not yet complete, and he cannot genuinely give rise to the aspiration for the Path of buddhahood.

Those who have not fulfilled the ten stages of faith are still unable to believe that the tathāgatagarbha truly exists; they often think that the tathāgatagarbha is merely a provisional term, just a concept. They believe that the emptiness of the tathāgatagarbha is equivalent to the tathāgatagarbha not existing, and that the concept of the tathāgatagarbha is merely a skillful, provisional teaching expounded by the Buddhas. Because they cannot correctly understand the meaning of what the Buddha taught, they misinterpret the Mahāyāna definitive dharma (Mahāyāna-nītārtha-dharma) that the Buddha proclaimed, taking it all to be the Buddha's skillful, provisional teachings and expedient dharmas. The only thing they have not done is openly say that the Buddha was toying with sentient beings for amusement—most people would not dare say this publicly—but in substance this is exactly what it means. Such a notion is slandering the Buddha and slandering the Dharma: treating all the Buddha's definitive and ultimate teachings as if they were the Buddha's non-definitive, non-ultimate dharmas, grossly distorting the true meaning of the Buddha. The evil karma of sentient beings slandering the Buddha and the Dharma exists universally, and it is not surprising; it is all because sentient beings have cultivated for too short a time across countless kalpas, resulting in meager merit (alpa-puṇya).