by Red Pine
“Therefore, Mahamati, bodhisattvas who seek the highest goal should purify what are called the tathagata-garbha and the repository consciousness.40 Mahamati, if there were nothing called the repository consciousness, the tathagatagarbha would neither arise nor cease.41 But sages and fools alike experience arising and cessation, Mahamati. Therefore, practitioners who cultivate the personal realization of buddha knowledge dwell in the bliss of whatever is present and do not abandon their practice.
“Mahamati, although this repository consciousness of the tathagata-garbha seen by the minds of shravakas and pratyeka-buddhas is essentially pure, because it is obscured by the dust of sensation, it appears impure—but not to tathagatas. To tathagatas, Mahamati, the realm that appears before them is like an amala42 fruit in the palm of their hand.
“Mahamati, I have used my spiritual power to support Queen Shrimala43 and other bodhisattvas of deep wisdom to explain the meaning of what are called the repository consciousness and the tathagata-garbha, which appear together with the seven other kinds of consciousness, so that those shravakas still attached to them might see that persons and dharmas are without a self. Thus supported by the power of the Buddha, Queen Shrimala explained the realm of understanding of tathagatas and not the realm of understanding of shravakas, pratyeka-buddhas, or other paths. The repository consciousness of the tathagata-garbha is something only buddhas and those wisest of bodhisattvas who rely on meaning understand.44 Therefore you and the other bodhisattvas should diligently reflect on the repository consciousness of the tathagata-garbha. Don’t simply think hearing about this is enough.”
The Buddha then repeated the meaning of this in verse:
1. “Deep is the tathagata-garbha / with seven kinds of consciousness / the two kinds of grasping that arise45 / are avoided by the wise
2. The mind is like a reflected image / the result of habit-energy without beginning / for those who see what is real / whatever is seen isn’t seen
3. Like fools who see me point to the moon / look at my finger and not at the moon / those who cling to names / don’t see this truth of mine
4. The mind is the hero in a play / the will is the hero’s confidant / the five forms of consciousness are the cast / projections are the audience.”
LXXXIII46
Mahamati then asked the Buddha, “May the Bhagavan please explain the essential distinguishing characteristics of the five dharmas, the modes of existence, the forms of consciousness, and the two kinds of no-self. For as I and the other bodhisattvas distinguish these during the sequence of stages, we will penetrate the teaching of every buddha. And by penetrating the teaching of every buddha, we will eventually reach the realm of a tathagata’s own realization.”
The Buddha said, “Listen carefully, Mahamati, most carefully, and think about what you hear.”
Mahamati replied, “May we be so instructed.”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “The distinguishing characteristics of the five dharmas, the modes of existence, the forms of consciousness, and the two kinds of no-self include name and appearance, projection, correct knowledge, and suchness. 47 As practitioners cultivate these and reach the realm of personal realization of buddha knowledge, they transcend views of eternity and annihilation and existence and nonexistence and dwell in the bliss of meditating on what is present and what appears before them.48 Mahamati, because they are unaware that the five dharmas, the modes of existence, the forms of consciousness, and the two kinds of no-self are perceptions of their own minds, fools imagine their external existence, but not the wise.”
Mahamati asked the Buddha, “Bhagavan, why do fools give rise to projections and not the wise?”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “Fools let their thoughts wander among the names and appearances of convention to which they are attached. And as they wander among the multitude of shapes that appear, they fall prey to views and longings concerning a self and what belongs to a self, and they become attached to excelling. And once they are attached, they are blinded by ignorance and give rise to passion. And once they are inflamed, the karma produced by desire, anger, and delusion accumulates. And as it accumulates, they become enveloped in their own projections, like silkworms in cocoons, or submerged in boundless states of existence in the sea of birth and death, as if they were on a waterwheel. But because of their ignorance, they do not realize that their own existence is an illusion, a mirage, a reflection of the moon in water, and without a self or what belongs to a self, that it is devoid of the origination, duration, or cessation of what characterizes or what is characterized, and that it arises from the projections of their own mind and not from a creator, time, motes of dust, or a supreme being. Thus do fools wander among names and appearances.
“Mahamati, as for appearance, what appears to visual consciousness, we name ‘form.’ What appears to auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, or conceptual consciousness, we name ‘sound,’ ‘smell,’ ‘taste,’ ‘feeling,’ or ‘thought.’ These are the names for appearances.49
“Mahamati, projection fabricates names and points to appearances as being ‘like this and not something else.’ What we name an elephant or a horse, a charioteer or a foot soldier, a man or a woman, this is what is meant by projection.
“Mahamati, according to correct knowledge, names and appearances are indistinguishable—like passersby. When the different forms of consciousness do not arise, and they are neither annihilated nor eternal, and one does not end up in the realms of shravakas, pratyeka-buddhas, or other paths, this is what is meant by correct knowledge.50
“Moreover, Mahamati, as a result of correct knowledge, bodhisattvas neither assert names or appearances, nor do they not assert names or appearances. They avoid dualistic views of assertion or denial because they know that names and appearances do not arise. This is what is meant by ‘suchness.’
“Mahamati, because bodhisattvas who dwell in suchness reach the realm that is free from projections, they reach the bodhisattva’s stage of joy. And once they reach the bodhisattva’s stage of joy, they leave the false realms of other paths forever and dwell in transcendent realms, where they become proficient in distinguishing the characteristics of all dharmas as illusory, including the characteristics of the realm of personal realization, and where they see their nature as different from their characteristics while remaining free from projections, and where they eventually reach the dharma cloud stage51 and therein the full unfolding of samadhis, higher powers, masteries, and spiritual faculties. And upon reaching the tathagata stage, the light of their various transformations radiates like the moon on the water and brings beings to maturity by teaching them in accordance with their desires and understanding, as they thereby fulfill the ten inexhaustible vows.52 A dharma body that transcends the products of thought, this is what bodhisattvas who dwell in suchness obtain.”
Mahamati then asked the Buddha, “Bhagavan, are the three modes of reality part of the five dharmas, or do they each have their own independent characteristics?”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “The three modes of reality as well as the eight forms of consciousness and the two kinds of no-self are all included in the five dharmas. Mahamati, name and appearance are the imagined mode of reality. Mahamati, because the mind and what belongs to the mind53 are dependent on projection for their existence and arise together with name, just as do the sun and its rays, and because they are supported by the differentiation of their various appearances, they constitute the dependent mode. And, Mahamati, because correct knowledge and suchness are indestructible, they make up the perfected mode.
“Moreover, Mahamati, the projections that are the perceptions of one’s own mind are of eight kinds, namely, those of the repository consciousness, the will, conceptual consciousness, and the five forms of sensory consciousness.54 But their appearances are not real because they are projections. And when the twofold grasping of a self and what belongs to a self ceases, the two kinds of no-self arise.55”Thus, Mahamati, the sequence of stages that lead shravak
as, pratyeka-buddhas, bodhisattvas, and tathagatas to the self-realization of buddha knowledge and all the teachings of buddhas are included in the five dharmas.
LXXXIV56
“Moreover, Mahamati, the five dharmas include appearance, name, projection, suchness, and correct knowledge.57 Mahamati, appearance is what is perceived as having physical shape and features. This is what is meant by appearance. If a certain appearance is referred to as a pot and not something else, this is what is meant by name. Designating names and pointing to appearances, as in the case of a pot, involve the mind and what belongs to the mind. This is what is meant by projection. But names and appearances are essentially ungraspable and ultimately unknowable. What is not affected by anything and what transcends mistaken projections, this is what is meant by suchness. What is real, true, certain, ultimate, self-existent, and ungraspable,58 these are the characteristics of suchness. The characteristics I and all buddhas accordingly attain and truly explain and designate and indicate to others so that they are able to reach a true understanding of what is neither annihilated nor eternal and so that they do not give rise to projections but reach the realm of the personal realization of buddha knowledge beyond the reach of shravakas, pratyeka-buddhas and followers of other paths, this is what is meant by correct knowledge.
“And this, Mahamati, is what is meant by how the five dharmas include the three modes of reality, the eight forms of consciousness, the two kinds of no-self, and all the teachings ofbuddhas. Therefore, Mahamati, you should cultivate these in your own practice and teach others not to follow anything else.”
The Buddha then repeated the meaning of this in verse:
1. “The five dharmas include the three modes of existence / the eight forms of consciousness / the two kinds of no-self / the entire Mahayana
2. Name, appearance, and projection / these form the first two modes / correct knowledge and suchness / these form the perfected mode.”
LXXXV59
Mahamati once more asked the Buddha, “According to a statement made by the Bhagavan, ‘the buddhas of the past are like the sand of the Ganges, as are those of the future and the present.’ Bhagavan, are we to accept this as stated, or does it have another meaning? May the Tathagata be so compassionate as to explain this.”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “You should not accept this as stated. The number of buddhas in the three periods is not like the sand of the Ganges. And why not? Because they surpass worldly expectations and are not comparable to any comparison. But because foolish people are attached to permanence, and because followers of other paths foster their own pernicious views and projections,60 and their births and deaths are endless, in order to encourage their aversion to the wheel of birth and death and their effort to advance, I tell them buddhas are easy to encounter, not like udumbara flowers,61 which are hard to encounter, and they are worth looking for. But other times, when I see those who are receptive to instruction, I tell them buddhas are as hard to encounter as an udumbara flower.62 An udumbara flower has never been seen, is not seen, and never will be seen.63 Tathagatas, however, are seen in every world. But the reason I liken a tathagata’s appearance in the world to an udumbara flower is not in order to establish personal understanding.64 Mahamati, those who establish their own understanding are beyond worldly expectations, and ordinary people find it hard to believe them, for there is nothing to which the realm of personal realization of buddha knowledge can be compared. Tathagatas are truly beyond the characteristics perceived by the mind, the will, or conceptual consciousness. They are beyond comparison.
“Nevertheless, Mahamati, my comparison of tathagatas to the sand of the Ganges is not mistaken. 65Mahamati, they are compared to the sand of the Ganges because when turtles or otters or lions or elephants or horses or people or animals tread on it, the sand doesn’t give rise to projections and think ‘they are disturbing me,’ for its nature is pure and free from such defilements. The self-realization of buddha knowledge of the tathagatas, the arhats, the fully enlightened ones is the Ganges, while their higher powers, spiritual faculties, and masteries are the sand. No matter how animals and people and followers of other paths try to disturb them, tathagatas do not give rise to projections or concerns. Tathagatas remain at peace and free from thoughts of discrimination. And the freedom of tathagatas from disturbance is no different than that of the sand of the Ganges because they have vowed to comfort beings with the bliss of samadhi, and because they have eliminated anger and desire.
“For example, the essential nature of the sand of the Ganges is earth. But when the kalpa-ending fire66 burns up everything made of earth, the essential nature of the element of earth is not lost because it arises together with the element of fire. Fools in other worlds67 imagine that earth is burned up. But earth is not burned up because fire is its cause.68 In the same manner, Mahamati, a tathagata’s dharma body is indestructible, like the sand of the Ganges.69
“Mahamati, just as the sand of the Ganges is beyond measure, a tathagata’s light is likewise beyond measure. It shines on all buddha assemblies everywhere in order to bring beings to maturity.
“Mahamati, just as the sand of the Ganges could never seek to be other than sand, likewise, Mahamati, the tathagatas, the arhats, the fully enlightened ones are free from birth and death, origination and cessation, because they have put an end to the cause of existence.70
“Mahamati, just as it is impossible to know if the sand of the Ganges increases or decreases, the same is true, Mahamati, of the wisdom of tathagatas that brings beings to maturity, for it neither increases nor decreases because it is not a physical dharma.71 Physical dharmas can be destroyed, but the dharma body of a tathagata is not a physical dharma.
“And just as pressing the sand of the Ganges does not produce cooking oil, even if tathagatas are pressed by beings in the most intense kinds of pain because of their great compassion, as long as any being has not yet attained nirvana, they do not abandon the Dharma Realm72 for the wished-for joys of samadhi.
“Mahamati, just as the sand of the Ganges flows together with the river’s water and not where there is no water, likewise, Mahamati, all the teachings spoken by the tathagatas flow together with nirvana and thus are said to be like the sand of the Ganges. However, tathagatas do not flow or go73 anywhere because to go means to disappear. Mahamati, the ultimate beginning of samsara cannot be known. And because it cannot be known, how can anyone speak of going? Mahamati, foolish people do not understand that to go means to cease to exist.”
Mahamati asked the Buddha, “Bhagavan, if beings cannot know the ultimate beginning of samsara, how can they know liberation?”74
The Buddha told Mahamati, “When one understands that the external world is a perception of one’s own mind, the cause of the habit-energy of beginningless projections ceases, and there is a transformation of one’s imaginary body. This is liberation not cessation. Therefore, what has no boundary75 does not mean nothing at all because such an expression as ‘what has no boundary’ is a product of projection. Whether you look inside or outside, apart from projection, there are no other beings. Whether it is what knows or what is known, everything is still. As long as you don’t recognize that your projections are perceptions of your own mind, projections arise. Once you do, they cease.”
The Buddha then repeated the meaning of this in verse:
1. “Who views the tathagatas / like the sand of the Ganges / not destroyed or disappearing / they can see the buddhas76
2. What is a buddha’s body like / like the sand of the Ganges / flowing unpolluted / flowing on forever.”77
LXXXVI78
Mahamati once more asked the Buddha, “Could the Bhagavan please explain how dharmas are momentary and subject to destruction?79 Why are they momentary?”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “Listen closely and think about what I tell you.”
The Buddha told Mahamati, “All dharmas are either good, bad or neutral, created or uncreated, mundane or transcendent, karmic or non-karmic, d
efiled or undefiled, perceptible or imperceptible. Briefly, Mahamati, the five grasping skandhas80 are based on the mind, the will, and conceptual consciousness along with their habit-energy. It is the mind, the will, and conceptual consciousness and their habit-energy that nourishes the differentiation of good and bad by fools. Mahamati, cultivating the bliss and absorption of samadhi and the bliss of whatever is present, this is what is called good and undefiled by the wise.
“Mahamati, what is good or bad refers to the eight forms of consciousness. And what are the eight? They include the tathagata-garbha—known as the repository consciousness—the will, conceptual consciousness, and the five forms of sensory consciousness. These are not taught by followers of other paths. Mahamati, the five forms of sensory consciousness together with the mind, the will, and conceptual consciousness give rise to the development and destruction of good and bad characteristics and a body that continues without being destroyed. But while these arise and cease, people are unaware that they are perceptions of their own minds. And as one form of consciousness ceases, others arise, differentiate, and grasp shapes and forms. And as conceptual consciousness and the five forms of sensory consciousness arise in correspondence with one another, they last but a moment. Hence, they are called momentary.
