Why Are Buddhas and Bodhisattvas Not Subject to Evil Influences?

If sentient beings, while living in the world, still become influenced and defiled when encountering adverse conditions, thereby giving rise to afflictions, this shows that the manas of sentient beings is still conjoined with afflictions and has not yet eradicated them; hence they are defiled upon encountering conditions, and unwholesome karma manifests upon encountering conditions. The Buddhas, through their cultivation over three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas, have long since completely eradicated all afflictive defilements such as greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, doubt, and wrong views, as well as all afflictive habitual tendencies, with no residual habits remaining. When they come to this evil world of the five turbidities and come into contact with sentient beings full of afflictions, they are not in the slightest influenced or defiled by the afflictions of sentient beings; their minds remain forever pure and undefiled. This is because the Buddha eradicated afflictions at the first bhūmi, and His mind was already free of defilement; it was only that at that time the afflictive habitual tendencies had not yet been fully eradicated.

The afflictions that the Buddhas began to eradicate even before the first bhūmi are those eradicated by both the sixth and seventh consciousnesses. Because the seventh consciousness eradicated afflictions, it was able to achieve the transformation of consciousness into wisdom, possessing the wisdom of equality (samatā-jñāna), perceiving all dharmas as equal and nondual, without distinction between self and others; therefore there is no selfishness, and one treats people and affairs with equality. Because the seventh consciousness, the manas, has eradicated afflictions, no matter where one is reborn in later lives, the manas has no afflictions and is not subject to defiling influence. However, when the afflictive habitual tendencies have not yet been eradicated, those tendencies will occasionally manifest—this is unavoidable—and the mind consciousness will occasionally be influenced by the environment. Although the mind consciousness may be influenced and display some afflictions, these will quickly subside, will not persist or become entrenched, and will not influence or defile the manas.

Because the manas is not subject to defiling influence and itself no longer has afflictions, the afflictions of the mind consciousness are easy to eradicate. Otherwise, with the mind consciousness controlled by the manas, afflictions are not easy to remove, and even if removed they will arise again. For bodhisattvas at the eighth bhūmi and above, the mind consciousness is no longer subject to defiling influence and will not manifest afflictive habitual tendencies. The mind consciousness of the Buddhas is even less subject to any influence or defilement; neither afflictions nor habitual tendencies will appear: seeing forms, they do not crave; seeing wealth, they do not covet; they do not seek power or status; they are neither hateful nor angry, neither vexed nor agitated; their minds are soft and harmonious, tranquil and supremely tranquil. In contrast, the sixth and seventh consciousnesses of ordinary sentient beings possess all afflictions: upon encountering conditions they are influenced and defiled, always conforming to their environment, with little resistance to it—seeing forms, they love them; seeing wealth, they covet it; they delight in power and pursue fame and gain; when adverse conditions arise, anger and resentment constantly follow their minds, and their selfishness and self-regard are extremely heavy.

From this it can be seen that the manas of ordinary sentient beings possesses all afflictions—greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, doubt, and wrong views—and since the mind consciousness follows the manas, afflictions will also frequently manifest; upon encountering defiling conditions, the mind consciousness is easily influenced. Because the manas connects the three periods of past, present, and future lives, and also possesses all afflictions, birth-and-death and saṃsāra continue without end: in the antarā-bhava and at birth in later lives, all afflictions are already present, no different from the previous life, with afflictions persisting life after life. However, apart from the afflictions of the view of self, self-grasping, self-conceit, and self-delusion, which constantly accompany the manas in its continuous operation without pause, the other afflictions do not constantly accompany the manas in its operation; rather, they only manifest upon encountering conditions, creating unwholesome karma and depositing karmic seeds, thereby perpetuating birth-and-death and saṃsāra in later lives.