What Are the Mental Factors Not Concomitant with Mind? (Part II)

Before realizing the Tathagatagarbha, the preliminary stages of warmth, summit, patience, and worldly supreme dharma will first manifest. These four stages refer to the gradual process through which, by investigating the Tathagatagarbha or studying the principle of non-self in the five aggregates as taught in the Agama sutras, one internally negates the notion of the five aggregates as the self. Wisdom gradually becomes clear and bright, ultimately leading to complete acceptance that the five aggregates are neither the self nor different from the self. This eradicates the view of self, transcends ordinary worldlings, and establishes one as the foremost person in the mundane world.

Only after fully negating the five aggregates, rejecting the seven consciousnesses as the self, and denying the six sense faculties, six sense objects, and six sense consciousnesses, can one realize the true self and thereby attain enlightenment by awakening to the mind. As ancient Chan patriarchs said: "Only after the five aggregates are extinguished can the Dharma-body come alive." This means that only by first negating the reality of the five aggregates and severing the view of self that takes them as the self can the pure and true Dharma-body vividly manifest within the mind. At that instant, one recognizes this as the self-nature, the Tathagatagarbha, the Dharma-body. With this death of the false and birth of the true, the foundation for Buddhahood is established.

Although the realization of Tathagatagarbha might occur in an extremely short time—even instantaneously upon negating the five aggregates—it still happens after eradicating the view of self. While many claim that the view of self is severed at or after the moment of awakening to the mind, in reality, without negating the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses, one cannot realize the Tathagatagarbha. This is because the obscuration caused by the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses veils the manifestation of the Tathagatagarbha, creating a mixture of false and true that temporarily prevents discernment.

Once the view of self is eradicated and the false is negated, the true immediately leaps forth, leading to the realization of Tathagatagarbha. Without negating the false five aggregates, the eye of wisdom cannot arise, making it impossible to recognize the Tathagatagarbha. One must continue investigating until the view of self is severed; only then can one discover the Tathagatagarbha, which transcends the five aggregates and eighteen elements. This may occur in a single instant.