Is Human Nature Originally Good or Evil?

A person's fundamental nature refers to the mental nature one possesses innately: one is the mental nature of the manas, and the other is the tathāgatagarbha nature; the nature acquired through later conditioning is the mental nature of the mind consciousness. To see the root of human nature in terms of the five aggregates (pañcaskandha), one must look at the manas; to see it as a whole, one must look at the tathāgatagarbha. To observe the manifestation of a person's mental nature, one must look at the manas. The manas is the root, and the mind consciousness is the branches and leaves. Although the luxuriant foliage of the mind consciousness can conceal the root of the manas, the branches and leaves of the mind consciousness will inevitably wither and fall one day, and at that time the root of the manas will be completely exposed.

In terms of the five aggregates, one should look at the mental nature of the manas; in terms of essence, one should look at the mental nature of the tathāgatagarbha. But generally speaking, what is observed is the mental nature of the five aggregates. Whatever nature the manas has had since beginningless kalpas, that is the nature of humanity. Whatever mental nature the manas has, that is the mental nature of humanity; and even further, whatever mental nature a beast has, that is the mental nature of a beast; whatever mental nature a ghost or spirit has, that is the mental nature of a ghost or spirit; whatever mental nature an asura has, that is the mental nature of an asura; whatever mental nature a deva has, that is the mental nature of a deva; and even further, whatever mental nature an arhat has, that is the mental nature of an arhat; whatever mental nature a pratyekabuddha has, that is the mental nature of a pratyekabuddha; whatever mental nature a bodhisattva has, that is the mental nature of a bodhisattva; whatever mental nature a Buddha has, that is the mental nature of a Buddha. More fundamental than the manas is the mental nature of the true mind, the tathāgatagarbha; therefore, the original nature of humanity is the tathāgatagarbha nature.