宗鏡錄 82.13

82.13

Answer: In terms of the *Buddhagotraśāstra*, there are five kinds of tathāgatagarbha; the *Explanation of the Mahāyāna Treatise* (*Shi Moheyan lun*) lists ten kinds of tathāgatagarbha.
First, the *Buddhagotraśāstra* states that there are five kinds of garbha: 1. The tathāgatagarbha, because while in entanglement, it contains the fruition dharmas. 2. The garbha of intrinsically pure nature, because while in entanglement, it is undefiled. 3. The dharmakāya garbha, because at the fruition stage it is the support for virtues. 4. The supreme transcendent garbha, because upon emerging from entanglement it surpasses the two vehicles and bodhisattvas. 5. The dharmadhātu garbha, because it pervades the cause and penetrates through to the fruition; externally it sustains all defilement and purity, and is therefore called 'dharmadhātu'; internally it contains all the virtues of the nature [as numerous as] the sands of the Ganges, and is therefore called 'garbha'.
Next, the *Shi Moheyan lun* states: 'There are ten kinds of tathāgatagarbha, because they are expounded separately across the sūtras.
1. The Great Dhāraṇī Tathāgatagarbha, because it completely gathers in all tathāgatas. In the *Sūtra of the Inexhaustible Treasury of All Buddhas* it is said: "The Buddha told Mañjuśrī: 'There is a tathāgatagarbha named the Great Jewel Inexhaustible Exquisite Complete Dhāraṇī. It completely gathers in all garbhas, with nothing it does not penetrate, nothing it does not fit, perfectly complete and fully equal. Among all existing tathāgatagarbhas, there are none for which this is not the root. Why? This tathāgatagarbha is the king of tathāgatagarbhas, the lord of tathāgatagarbhas, the heaven of tathāgatagarbhas, and the earth of tathāgatagarbhas. For this reason, it is named the Great Jewel Inexhaustible Exquisite Complete Dhāraṇī Tathāgatagarbha.'" What meaning does this sūtra passage clarify? It displays the general characteristic of that which is the support—the dhāraṇī garbha—and the specific characteristics of those supported—the various tathāgatagarbhas in the other sūtras. In what sense is it called tathāgatagarbha? Because it embraces and sustains.
2. The Tathāgatagarbha Far-Transcending Transmigration and Fetters, because it is purely singular and complete. In the *Bhūtakoṭi Sūtra* it is said: "Son of the Buddha, the tathāgatagarbha has only awakening, only suchness; it is free from the cause of transmigration, free from the bond of deliberative cognition, entirely pure and white. Therefore it is named the garbha of the Tathāgata." What meaning does this sūtra passage clarify? It displays the one mind of tathatā, free of any cause of delusion, free of any cause of awakening, free of any fruit of delusion, free of any fruit of awakening, uniquely true and uniquely such, having only the pure and sublime substance of the Tathāgata. In what sense is it called tathāgatagarbha? Because it is without any impurity.
3. The Tathāgatagarbha that Bestows Activity and Characteristics, because it bestows the power for transmigration, and causes the dharmakāya Tathāgata to be concealed. In the *Laṅkāvatārasūtra* it is said: "The tathāgatagarbha is the cause of good and non-good, experiences suffering and pleasure, accompanies causes, and undergoes arising and ceasing like an actor." What meaning does this sūtra passage clarify? It displays the one mind of arising and ceasing, which bestows power upon delusion and bestows power upon awakening, manifesting the dharmas of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. It is like an illusory person who is not an illusion, bestowing power and function according to what is appropriate upon all illusory events. In what sense is it called tathāgatagarbha? Because it causes concealment.
4. The Tathatā-Tathatā Tathāgatagarbha, because it is only suchness. In the *Sūtra on True Cultivation* it is said: "The tathāgatagarbha of principle as it is and principle as it is, is not an establishment and not a repudiation; it is neither permanent nor impermanent; it is not realized by the fundamental non-discriminative wisdom, nor is it an objective sphere grasped by the manas or manovijñāna. Why? Because there is only principle and principle, and none of that or this." What meaning does this sūtra passage clarify? It displays the essential tathatā principle within the gateway of tathatā: only principle as its own principle, not wisdom as its own principle. In what sense is it called tathāgatagarbha? Because it is free from otherness.
5. The Arising-and-Ceasing Tathatā Tathāgatagarbha, which neither arises nor ceases, yet is defiled by arising and ceasing. In the *Laṅkāvatārasūtra* it is said: "Mahāmati, foolish worldlings do not perceive or understand; clinging to all dharmas as not abiding for an instant, they fall into wrong views and say: 'Untainted dharmas also do not abide for an instant,' thereby destroying that tathatā tathāgatagarbha. Furthermore, Mahāmati, if the adamantine tathāgatagarbha—the dharma realized by the Tathāgata—did not abide for an instant, then all noble ones would not become noble ones." What meaning does this sūtra passage clarify? It displays the essential tathatā principle within the gateway of arising and ceasing, which is free from the characteristic of impermanence and is an unarisen and unceasing dharma. In what sense is it called tathāgatagarbha? Because it is defiled.
6. The Empty Tathāgatagarbha, because all is said to be empty, concealing the Tathāgata. In the *Śrīmālādevī Sūtra* it is said: "World-Honoured One, the empty tathāgatagarbha is apart from, detached from, and distinct from all garbhas of kleśas." What meaning does this sūtra passage clarify? It displays that all defiled dharmas within the gateway of arising and ceasing conceal the intrinsic characteristics of original awakening and its measureless virtues of the nature. In what sense are all defiled dharmas collectively called empty? Because all defiled dharmas are illusory transformations and distinctions, their substances and characteristics lack reality, and their functions are untrue; hence they are called empty. Yet they can conceal the real virtues and true substance of the dharmakāya Tathāgata, and therefore it is named the garbha of the Tathāgata, its name established from the concealing defilements.
7. The Non-Empty Tathāgatagarbha, because everything is non-empty, yet it is defiled by empty defilement. In the *Śrīmālādevī Sūtra* it is said: "World-Honoured One, the non-empty tathāgatagarbha is inseparable, undetachable, and indistinct from inconceivable Buddha dharmas surpassing the sands of the Ganges." What meaning does this sūtra passage clarify? It displays that the intrinsic characteristic of original awakening within the gateway of arising and ceasing is fully endowed with all virtues surpassing the sands of the Ganges, yet is defiled by all defiled dharmas surpassing the sands of the Ganges. In what sense are all pure dharmas collectively called non-empty? Because the substance of all pure dharmas is internally real, their function is exceedingly sublime, and they are far removed from falsity and transcend artifice; hence they are called non-empty. Being covered by defilement, it is called tathāgatagarbha; when manifested, it is called dharmakāya; when concealed, it is called tathāgatagarbha. Thus its name is established from that which is purified.
8. The Tathāgatagarbha Capable of Embracing, because the intrinsically pure mind within the garbha of avidyā is capable of embracing all virtues. In the *Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa* it is said: "The fundamentally aligned substance of the tathāgatagarbha and its pure dharmas are true as they are, not false, inseparable and undetachable, dharmas of inconceivable wisdom; from the beginningless fundamental limit, there has been this pure and aligned dharma-substance." What meaning does this sūtra passage clarify? It displays that the intrinsically pure mind of all sentient beings has from the beginningless past been fully endowed with the three wisdoms and complete in the four virtues, lacking nothing. In what sense is it called tathāgatagarbha? Because the inverted mind does not know and does not perceive it; thus its name is established from that which can purify.
9. The Embraced Tathāgatagarbha, because all defiled dharmas—the ground-garbha of avidyā—having been transcended, are embraced by the perfectly awakened one. In the *Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa* it is said: "The fundamentally unaligned substance of the Tathāgata and the impure dharmas bound by kleśas—these unaligned impure dharmas bound by kleśas, separated and detached from the fundamental limit—can only be severed by the bodhi wisdom of the Tathāgata." What meaning does this sūtra passage clarify? It displays the fully awakened Buddha of initial awakening, who has severed all hindrances and is endowed with all wisdom: with the brightness of wisdom outside and the darkness of hindrances inside, all defiled dharmas are embraced and sustained by wisdom. In what sense is it called tathāgatagarbha? Because it embraces and sustains.
10. The Concealed Tathāgatagarbha, because the dharmakāya Tathāgata is hidden and submerged, covered by kleśas. In the *Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa* it is said: "The tathāgatagarbha is equal to the future limit, constant and having dharmas, which is the root of all dharmas, fully equipped with all dharmas, possessing all dharmas, inseparable and undetachable from mundane dharmas." What meaning does this sūtra passage clarify? It displays that the substance of the multifaceted one mind equals the dharmadhātu, pervades the three times, and is fully complete; with defiled and pure dharmas, there is nowhere it does not penetrate, nowhere it does not reach. Furthermore, it displays that the intrinsically pure mind within the gateway of according with conditions is hidden and submerged within defiled dharmas, the dharmakāya Tathāgata having not yet appeared. These are named the ten.'
Now, taking the fifth dharmadhātu garbha from the *Buddhagotraśāstra* and the first Great Dhāraṇī Tathāgatagarbha from the *Shi Moheyan lun*, their meaning is vastly pervasive, completely gathering in everything. Through the wisdom of the real mark, one will surely be able to realize and enter it. It is like the stars revolving around the North Star, like the ocean gathering all rivers, like great empty space, where not a single dust mote fails to enter; or like inside the mirror of the source, where not a single dharma fails to return. It is what all noble ones ride, and what all Buddhas co-realize. The other garbhas, according with defiled and pure conditions, constitute the two gateways of tathatā and arising-and-ceasing, as virtues and faults, concealing and revealing, and their antidotes. Because it is undifferentiated yet differentiated, it does not keep its own nature; because it is differentiated yet undifferentiated, it does not lose its own nature. Thus the general and the particular share the same source, and the root and branches are of one single limit. As a verse in the *Ratnagotravibhāga* says:
'The dharmakāya pervades without difference;
All truly have the Buddha-nature.
Therefore it is said that sentient beings
Always possess the tathāgatagarbha.'
What meaning does this verse clarify? There are three meanings why the Tathāgata says that at all times all sentient beings have the tathāgatagarbha. What are the three? First, the dharmakāya of the Tathāgata pervades the minds and consciousnesses of all sentient beings, as the verse says 'the dharmakāya pervades'. Second, the substance of tathatā is equal and without difference in all sentient beings, as the verse says 'without difference'. Third, all sentient beings equally possess the tathatā Buddha-nature, as the verse says 'all truly have the Buddha-nature'.