Even Good Medicine Cannot Cure the Disease

A: Precepts, samādhi, and wisdom are the main thread of practice; the three must be cultivated in equal measure, and none may be neglected. 

B: The tathāgatagarbha originally keeps no precepts, cultivates no samādhi, and cultivates no wisdom—precepts, samādhi, and wisdom are superfluous words. 

A: The goal of studying Buddhism is to attain liberation, liberation from all the entanglements of the world. 

B: The tathāgatagarbha is originally liberated, originally unbound. 

A: Only with meditative concentration (dhyāna) fully accomplished can one realize the Path; you must cultivate dhyāna well. 

B: The tathāgatagarbha is inherently endowed with dhyāna; there is no need to cultivate it. 

A: If you can resolve to leave home and practice, subduing afflictions becomes easier, and dhyāna will grow rapidly. 

B: The tathāgatagarbha has left home from the very beginning; there is no need to leave home again. 

A: Attaining buddhahood through practice takes three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas. 

B: The tathāgatagarbha is originally a Buddha; there is no need to become a Buddha again. 

A: Frequently turn the light inward and reflect on your own mind, subdue afflictions, and remove defilement. 

B: The tathāgatagarbha is originally pure, without affliction or defilement. 

A: Then do you still need to practice? 

B: The tathāgatagarbha is originally a Buddha; there is no need to practice. 

A: Then why did you sow discord and commit a precept violation today? 

B: All of this was done by the tathāgatagarbha. 

A: Let's not speak of the tathāgatagarbha; let's talk only about you. 

B: I rely on the tathāgatagarbha; I transform the basis as tathāgatagarbha. 

A: How have you accomplished the transformation of the basis (āśraya-parāvṛtti)?  B: ········· 

Tathāgatagarbha: B, I strongly suspect you were born of me, yet how is it that there is not the slightest trace of me in you? I also suspect that you have no real intention of studying Buddhism and practicing at all—you merely wave my banner while doing nothing yourself. The difference between us is so great: I am intrinsically pure in nature, so why are your afflictions so heavy? I am a Buddha, so why are you still struggling bitterly in the six realms? I am liberated, so why are you bound everywhere? I never commit verbal karma, so why do you constantly sow discord with false speech, divisive speech, and harsh speech? I am always in samādhi, so why is your mind everywhere grasping and scattered? I have left home from the very beginning, so why can you not renounce your kin and sever your attachments, giving up worldly fame, gain, splendor, and riches? I am endowed with wisdom, so why are you so foolish? 

B: As long as you're fine, that's enough—I'll transform the basis as you. 

Tathāgatagarbha: Transforming the basis with empty words? Be careful—if you fall again into the three evil realms, I will no longer accompany you. Each person's karma is borne by that person; even your own mother would be of no use. I hope you will conduct yourself well. From now on, stop using me as an excuse, and stop pinning all your misdeeds on me. I will not receive retribution on your behalf, nor will I become a Buddha on your behalf. 

B: ·········· 

A: Don't think that leaning on the tathāgatagarbha makes you heaven itself. Do whatever you ought to do—laziness is useless, and there are no shortcuts. Glib talk and mere lip-service Chan cannot withstand karmic power and cause and effect. The dharma of the tathāgatagarbha is a supreme medicine for curing illness, yet you only play with it and refuse to take it—then there will be no medicine left to cure you.