The Difference Between Consciousness-only and Mind-only

Yogācāra means "consciousness-only" in the sense of only the three transformative consciousnesses (parināma); all phenomena are manifested and displayed by these three transformative consciousnesses. "Mind-only" means only the tathāgatagarbha true mind; all dharmas are created and brought forth by the transformation of the tathāgatagarbha true mind.

The only dharma transformed solely by another person's consciousness is that person's physical body of the five aggregates (pañca-skandha); all other dharmas are either jointly manifested by the consciousnesses of sentient beings or manifested individually by one's own consciousness. As for the five aggregates of body and mind manifested individually by other people, once we come into contact with them and perceive them, they are dharmas manifested individually by our own consciousness. The "consciousness" in "consciousness-only" refers to the three transformative consciousnesses, meaning that whatever dharmas we sentient beings can come into contact with and cognize are all manifested individually by our own three transformative consciousnesses, without exception.

For the sixth consciousness, the seventh consciousness (manas), and the five sense consciousnesses, there are external objects, and what the sixth consciousness cognizes are all inner sense-objects. But for the tathāgatagarbha, which dharma could possibly be outside of it? The Chan patriarchs often said: "Outside the mind there are no dharmas; the eyes are filled with green mountains." This means that outside the tathāgatagarbha mind there are no dharmas at all; all dharmas, such as the green mountains and the like, are things within the tathāgatagarbha's own mind.