What Does "Accordance with Enlightened Nature" in the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment Mean?

Original text of the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment: “善男子！但诸菩萨及末世众生，居一切时不起妄念，于诸妄心亦不息灭，住妄想境不加了知，于无了知不辨真实。彼诸众生闻是法门，信解受持不生惊畏。是则名为随顺觉性。善男子！汝等当知！如是众生已曾供养百千万亿恒河沙诸佛及大菩萨，植众德本；佛说是人名为成就一切种智。”

Explanation: This refers to the self-abiding realm of the tathāgatagarbha; it describes the nature of the tathāgatagarbha, not a realm in which the seven consciousnesses should abide. The nature of the tathāgatagarbha is such that, at all times, it never gives rise to deluded thoughts, yet it also never extinguishes the deluded minds of the seven consciousnesses. The tathāgatagarbha manifests in all kinds of deluded states, but the tathāgatagarbha never knows these deluded states, nor does the tathāgatagarbha know that it does not know these deluded states; regarding its own not-knowing, the tathāgatagarbha never discriminates its reality, nor does it know that it has such a nature. Only a bodhisattva possessing the wisdom of the varieties of paths can understand these profound and subtle characteristics of the tathāgatagarbha; therefore this is the realization of suchness in accordance with the bhūmi bodhisattvas.

To recognize and accept this realm of the tathāgatagarbha nature is itself cultivation, and one who truly reaches this realm is a Buddha. That is a realm of principle—the realm of the tathāgatagarbha. The perceiving mind of a great bodhisattva cannot achieve this, let alone that of an ordinary being. As stated above, "hearing this dharma gateway"—this is a dharma gateway, the dharma gateway of the tathāgatagarbha. To be able to have faith in, understand, accept, and practice this dharma gateway of the tathāgatagarbha is the realization of suchness of a bodhisattva who has attained the bhūmis; only bhūmi bodhisattvas can truly understand and accord with it. When one's accordance with this realization of suchness reaches perfection, it is the perfectly complete realization of suchness of all Buddhas. At this point, such a sentient being has already made offerings to hundreds of millions of kotis of Buddhas and great bodhisattvas, and only then can he attain omniscience (sarvākārajñatā) and perfectly accomplish the Buddha path.