起信論疏筆削記 1.20

1.20

The two characters 'true mind' directly point to the essence of the Dharma. 'True' means real and true, distinguishing it from the false and deceptive. 'Mind' means numinous reflection, essential and wondrous, real in its core. Whenever we speak of the 'mind', there are indeed four kinds: First, in Sanskrit *hṛdaya*, translated here as the physical heart (flesh-ball heart), which is the cardiac organ of a person. Its color is red and its shape is like a lotus blossom with seven petals above; it is subsumed under physical form (rūpa-dharma). Second, *citta*, translated here as accumulation and arising, namely the eighth ālayavijñāna, because it can accumulate all seeds and give rise to actual manifestations. Third, the mind of thinking and cogitation; this extends across the mind-kings of the eight consciousnesses, because each can cognize and cogitate its own share of objects. Fourth, *hṛt*, translated here as the firm and solid mind, meaning the naturally pure, unproduced, and unceasing mind of the tathāgatagarbha. What is explained now is precisely this one. The mention of 'true' is to distinguish it from the other minds. If spoken of according to reality, it is simply the One Mind penetrating both the true and the false; because the treatise posits it as the essence of the Mahāyāna Dharma, it is the mind of the general mark. It is within the One Mind that the two gates are subsequently opened; although it is now called 'true', this uses the specific to reveal the general. If this mind is in the first gate, it is called merely tathatā; if it is in the latter gate, it is called merely original enlightenment. One should know that the true mind is the general, and tathatā is the specific.