The Meaning of the Dharma Realm Neither Increasing nor Decreasing

Not increasing and not decreasing has several layers of meaning: the total number of the tathāgatagarbhas of all sentient beings in the dharmadhātu neither increases nor decreases (although the tathāgatagarbha is not counted in numbers, He does have an individual attribution and is not shared in common, so speaking in terms of numbers is merely for convenience of expression); the tathāgatagarbha's intrinsic nature, functions, and effects neither increase in sages nor decrease in ordinary beings; the number of seeds of the seven great elements in the tathāgatagarbha neither increases nor decreases. The six faculties in the dharmadhātu neither increase nor decrease; the six sense objects in the dharmadhātu neither increase nor decrease; the six consciousnesses in the dharmadhātu neither increase nor decrease; the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness neither increase nor decrease. Because the phenomenal world is like an illusion, like a conjuration, without any intrinsic substance, it has never increased or decreased; illusory arising and illusory ceasing can never be obtained, so there is neither increase nor decrease; all dharmas arise from the combination of causes and conditions and are not truly existent in the first place—never arising and never ceasing—so there is neither increase nor decrease.

All dharmas are unborn; observing the ocean and its waves makes this relatively easy to understand. The waves are certainly surging and billowing, changing from moment to moment, but no matter how the waves change, they are still the water of the ocean, and the ocean forever neither increases nor decreases, neither arises nor ceases. Waves arise and then cease, cease and then arise; viewed as a whole, the waves in the ocean are as if never arising and never ceasing, neither increasing nor decreasing. To be able to understand the dharmadhātu in this way is very wise; although it is the wisdom of the mind consciousness, that is still very good, for it can guide contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) and personal realization.

The tathāgatagarbha neither increases nor decreases, and the manas likewise neither increases nor decreases; countless transformation bodies and immeasurable six-consciousness bodies are all subsumed under the tathāgatagarbha and the manas. Transformation bodies are also sentient beings; although the phenomena may increase or decrease, their nature neither increases nor decreases, and their fundamental substance neither increases nor decreases. Although transformation bodies are also sentient beings, they must likewise be subsumed under the manas's Sambhogakāya body; because the manas's Sambhogakāya body is unique, the transformation bodies also neither increase nor decrease.

What makes sentient beings sentient beings is that they possess a complete set of equipment, including the eight consciousnesses, and one may also include the material body; the main components are the manas and the tathāgatagarbha, with the seventh and eighth consciousnesses as the primary ones. Since the seventh and eighth consciousnesses neither increase nor decrease, the transformation bodies neither increase nor decrease. The Dharmakāya is the tathāgatagarbha, the Sambhogakāya is the seventh consciousness, the manas, and the Nirmāṇakāya bodies are the first six consciousnesses; no matter how many transformation bodies the buddhas and bodhisattvas have, they all exist in dependence on the Dharmakāya and the Sambhogakāya and belong to the Dharmakāya and the Sambhogakāya—apart from them, transformation bodies cannot exist on their own. A transformation body by itself cannot be counted as a sentient being, because it lacks self-mastery and autonomy; therefore transformation bodies also neither increase nor decrease. In summary, the dharmadhātu neither increases nor decreases.