The Respective Functions of the Three Transforming Consciousnesses

All dharmas (phenomena) that are objects of consciousness cannot be directly manifested by consciousness itself; they are still manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha. Does the consciousness's apprehension of dharmas require the manas (mental faculty) as an intermediary to function? Indeed, without the manas, all dharmas would fail to manifest. Dharmas not apprehended by the manas provide no basis for the arising of consciousness; without consciousness, there can be no discrimination of dharmas. As the sutra states: "Consciousness arises dependent upon the manas and dharmas."

There is a special case where the manas apprehends a cup, giving rise to consciousness, yet consciousness mistakes the cup for a pen holder. Some argue that this "pen holder" is not apprehended by the manas and is instead manifested and apprehended solely by consciousness. We should consider: Does the dharma of a "pen holder" truly exist? No, it does not. The pen holder is like the hair of a turtle or the horns of a hare. Turtles inherently have no hair; since it does not exist, it is said to be empty. What consciousness could possibly manifest it? If it were manifested by the four great elements (earth, water, fire, wind), it would be said to be manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha. If the Tathāgatagarbha manifested it using the seeds of the four great elements, then the turtle's hair would be considered an inherently existent dharma, visible to the naked eye. Yet, even the Buddha cannot see the hair of a turtle or the horns of a hare; it is precisely because they are not inherently existent dharmas that they cannot be seen.

Since it is not manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha and is not an inherently existent dharma, consciousness is even less capable of manifesting it. Consciousness possesses no seeds whatsoever and lacks the qualification to manifest any dharma. Similarly, neither the manas nor the five sense-consciousnesses have any qualification to manifest any dharma. Mistaking a rope for a snake or a cup for a pen holder is merely misapprehension—it is like diseased eyes seeing flowers in the sky. Who can manifest non-existent flowers? The same applies to mistaking a bow's reflection in a cup for a snake; there is no snake, the snake does not exist. A non-existent dharma cannot be spoken of as being born or manifested by anyone; it is merely misapprehension. It is like mistaking Zhang San for Li Si; since Li Si does not exist as a person, who could manifest Li Si? What capability could manifest Li Si? If Li Si were manifested using seeds, then Li Si would be inherently existent. Without using seeds to manifest Li Si, there is no Li Si—it is merely diseased eyes seeing flowers in the sky. Moreover, what meaning is there in discerning the authenticity, age, or gender of Li Si?

For any dharma not apprehended by the manas, there is no consciousness and no delusional thinking of consciousness. All dharmas are provided by the Tathāgatagarbha under the direction of the manas, which necessarily apprehends them. However, once consciousness arises, it inevitably performs its proper function; otherwise, the so-called third evolving consciousness would be meaningless. The second evolving consciousness is responsible for directing the Tathāgatagarbha to manifest, while the third evolving consciousness is responsible for presenting appearances, discriminating, analyzing, and processing. "Evolving" does not mean directly manifesting; in essence, it is always the Tathāgatagarbha that manifests. The manas and the six consciousnesses merely assist and make the manifestations apparent; they guide the Tathāgatagarbha's manifestation. The attention (manaskāra) of consciousness can influence the attention of the manas. The attention of the manas can guide the attention of the Tathāgatagarbha. Thus, only through the union of these three can dharmas arise. When consciousness engages in inference (anumāna), the manas becomes aware, agrees with the inference, and determines to manifest the conceived object (dharma-dhātu). The Tathāgatagarbha then cooperates. The Tathāgatagarbha does not heed the choices of consciousness; it only follows the choices of the manas.