大乘起信論裂網疏 3.67

3.67

Beginningless ignorance is precisely the innate delusion regarding phenomena associated with the seventh consciousness, named the root abiding-stage ignorance. Because of this ignorance, one does not truly know the oneness of the true Dharma; therefore, from beginningless time, sentient beings' tathatā is immutable yet accords with conditions, and by the nature of things there are eight consciousnesses: the seventh is the grasper, the eighth is the grasped; the eighth is the object of perfuming, the first seven are the perfuming agents; the first seven are supported, the eighth is the support. The worldly knowledge of ordinary persons certainly cannot know it, and the true wisdom of the two vehicles likewise does not reach it. This is because, for those of blunt faculties, the Tathāgata merely taught the dharmas of aggregates, sense-bases, and elements to break their grasp of self, and never explicitly spoke of the two consciousnesses, the seventh and the eighth. Bodhisattvas of the stage of understanding and practice: that is, after generating the mind upon fulfilling faith, one is then named [as belonging to] the stage of understanding and practice, what the Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi calls the two stages of provisions and applied practice. Upholding the Mahāyāna teaching, one cultivates practice and cultivates the mind for a full ten thousand kalpas before being able to generate the mind and enter the stage of understanding and practice; only then is one able to learn to observe the realm of the storehouse consciousness, namely investigating names, investigating referents, investigating the essential nature of names and referents, and investigating the differences of names and referents—that all are provisionally existent and truly non-existent, manifested by consciousness only. Thus it is said: 'A Mahāyāna bodhisattva constantly contemplates internal verbalizations as the cognitive realm.' 'Dharmakāya bodhisattvas can know it in small part' means that, because of the true path of seeing at the stage of thorough penetration, from this point on they sever obstacles part by part and realize tathatā part by part. 'Having reached the ultimate stage, one still does not know it completely' means that, even upon completing the ten stages, there is still the most subtle ignorance regarding the knowable. 'Only the Tathāgata can know it fully and clearly' means that he has exhausted the original source of mind and consciousness and thoroughly penetrated the nature and characteristics of mind and consciousness, with no remaining delusion. Here, the discussion of principle is purely ultimate, while the explanation of stages includes the provisional, in order to gather in all capacities. If one speaks in terms of the actual teaching of the One Vehicle, from the initial mind one contemplates that the tathāgatagarbha nature is immutable yet accords with conditions, being able to know the differentiated establishment of the marks of the eight consciousnesses; furthermore, one contemplates that the tathāgatagarbha nature accords with conditions yet is immutable, being able to know that the nature of the eight consciousnesses is only the one true tathatā. Then there is the attainment of the Tathāgata's wisdom in name, up to the ultimate attainment of the Tathāgata's wisdom, fully as explained in the previous text.