Dharmas Abide in Their Dharma-Positions; the Marks of the World Are Constantly Present

The Lotus Sutra (Saddharma-puṇḍarīka Sūtra) says: 是法住法位，世间相常在。 The dharma spoken of here and the worldly marks must certainly be distinct from each other; otherwise, the World-Honored One would not have spoken of them separately. The worldly marks are lacking in self-mastery and autonomy, arising and ceasing, changing, and impermanent. Why, then, does the sutra say here that they are "always present"? Dharmas that arise and cease impermanently must rely upon a dharma that neither arises nor ceases and abides permanently, in order to continuously arise, continuously change, and perish. As long as this permanently abiding dharma does not perish, the world will forever continue arising and ceasing without end. The individual instances of worldly marks exist for a certain period of time and then perish, yet the worldly marks of the world as a whole are always continuously present—all of this is owed to the non-arising, non-ceasing, permanently abiding dharma, the eighth consciousness.

The eighth consciousness is different from the worldly marks; it is not mixed together with them, and forever abides in a pure state of nirvāṇa. No matter how the worldly marks arise, cease, and change, He does not participate in them—suchness is immovable (tathatā-acalita); His mind does not move along with the worldly marks, undergoing any changes, afflictions, or ignorance. Therefore, the dharma of the eighth consciousness's essential substance forever abides unmoving in the pure, undefiled state of nirvāṇa, and the worldly marks that He gives rise to, depending on Him, will also forever continuously arise and perish—the phenomena of the world never perish.