The Purity of the Self-Nature of the Tathāgatagarbha as Taught in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra

Original text of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra:大慧。此如来藏识藏。一切声闻缘觉。心想所见。虽自性清净。客尘所覆故。犹见不净。非诸如来。大慧。如来者。现前境界。犹如掌中。视阿摩勒果。

Brief Explanation: Here it speaks of the śrāvakas and the pratyekabuddhas: with regard to the tathāgatagarbha, they can only think about it in their minds, mentally imagining that there is a tathāgatagarbha which is the mind of intrinsically pure self-nature, the true self. They merely hold this kind of view and opinion, but cannot truly realize it; only bodhisattvas who have generated the great mind can realize it—do not guess or speculate. Although the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas know that there is a mind of intrinsically pure self-nature, they are still obscured and covered by adventitious defilements from beginningless kalpas and cannot see Him; therefore their views are still insufficient. Although they have already attained the purity of the Dharma eye of the Small Vehicle, with regard to the Dharma of the tathāgatagarbha they have not yet given rise to the Dharma eye, and their views are still not pure.

Therefore, the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas cannot realize the eighth consciousness, the tathāgatagarbha. If they could realize it, they would be arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas, and their gotra (spiritual lineage) would have changed.

But the Buddhas and Tathāgatas are not like this. For the Buddhas and Tathāgatas, whenever all dharmas manifest, they are directly present realms; they are all observed through direct perception, without imagination or deliberation, much less speculation—it is entirely a realm of direct perception. The moment a realm appears before them, they immediately know it, just as clearly, transparently, lucidly, and truly purely as viewing an āmalaka fruit in the palm of one's own hand.