How to Contemplate That All Dharmas Are the Nature of Tathāgatagarbha

In the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, the World-Honored One repeatedly teaches that the five aggregates and the eighteen realms are all of the nature of the tathāgatagarbha — not of the nature of causes and conditions, nor of the nature of naturalism. That they are not of the nature of causes and conditions, nor of the nature of naturalism — if you ponder this over and over, you can come to understand it. But the nature of the tathāgatagarbha is extremely difficult to comprehend; even after realizing the tathāgatagarbha, it is still hard to observe, and understanding it is not so easy either. The formless and markless seeds of the four great elements combine to form the tiniest of particles; these particles then gather together to form slightly larger particles, and then the seeds of the four great elements continually form particles, the particles continually gather together, and finally material form — visible to the naked eye — comes into being. From nothing to something, from empty, formless seeds to tangible, tiniest particles — this in itself is utterly miraculous, like magic, and that is why it is said that the tathāgatagarbha is the magician. It is said that the tathāgatagarbha outputs the seeds of the four great elements, but in reality the seeds of the four great elements never go outside the tathāgatagarbha; the particles they form do not go outside the tathāgatagarbha, and the material form that arises does not go outside the tathāgatagarbha either. Our physical body arises and ceases within the tathāgatagarbha, never going outside of it. The tathāgatagarbha is formless and markless, so how could the physical body possibly have form and marks? What state, then, is it actually in? If material form were to arise, it would necessarily have to break away from the tathāgatagarbha, go outside of it, and have an independent form and appearance; the seeds of the four great elements would go outside the tathāgatagarbha, and when they ceased, they would return into the tathāgatagarbha. But the seeds of the four great elements are formless — how could they transform into tangible material form? How does the conversion take place? Outside the tathāgatagarbha, how would matter exist and change? Who would rely upon it? The seeds of the four great elements form particles, the particles gather together to form larger particles, the seeds of the four great elements continually form particles, the particles continually gather together, and finally the physical body appears, with form and marks. Yet the physical body has no arising — it has not gone outside the tathāgatagarbha. Since the seeds of the four great elements have not gone outside the tathāgatagarbha, the physical body cannot go outside the tathāgatagarbha either. If the seeds of the four great elements left the tathāgatagarbha to form particles, having left the tathāgatagarbha, how would they have functions and effects? Who would give these to them? Having left the tathāgatagarbha, how would the seeds operate? How would the formless be transformed into the tangible? If the physical body went outside the tathāgatagarbha, how would it exist and change? Who would rely upon it? At death, when the four great elements separate and the seeds return into the tathāgatagarbha, how do they go back? If they had gone outside the tathāgatagarbha, there would be no question of returning into the tathāgatagarbha. It turns out it is all the tathāgatagarbha playing by itself, putting on its own show, performing magic for itself to watch, amusing itself. When consciousness seeds are produced, they form the consciousness mind; since the consciousness seeds do not go outside the tathāgatagarbha, the consciousness mind does not go outside the tathāgatagarbha either. Apart from the tathāgatagarbha there are no seeds; apart from the tathāgatagarbha there is no consciousness mind, no mental concomitants of the consciousness mind, no feeling, perception, volitional formations, or consciousness. If feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness operate within the tathāgatagarbha, arising and ceasing, arising and ceasing in disorder, then form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness are all affairs within the tathāgatagarbha's own household — the conjuring does not conjure beyond the family's doorstep. The tathāgatagarbha enjoys it alone, amusing itself. No dharma whatsoever goes outside the tathāgatagarbha, and therefore there is no arising; nor does anything return into the tathāgatagarbha, and therefore there is no ceasing. There is no phenomenon in the world at all, no world either; there is nothing, nothing exists — so we might as well just sleep all day long. But then who is it that sleeps all day? The rules and principles within the tathāgatagarbha are so mysterious, so uncanny — without figuring them out, I am afraid one would not sleep well anyway.