Can the Substance of the Tathāgatagarbha Consciousness Be Abandoned?

Question: The Cheng Weishi Lun (Treatise on the Establishment of Consciousness-Only) says: “（如来藏）或名异熟识，能引生死善不善业异熟果故，此名唯在异生、二乘、诸菩萨位，非如来地，犹有异熟无记法故。” and “异熟识体，菩萨将得菩提时舍，声闻独觉入无余依涅槃时舍。” Are these two statements contradictory? After an arhat enters nirvāṇa without remainder, is he still an arhat? Does he still belong to the two vehicles? Especially regarding the second statement—can the essence (体) of the vipāka-consciousness (异熟识) actually be relinquished?

Answer: For bodhisattvas prior to the eighth bhūmi, their tathāgatagarbha is named ālayavijñāna. After the eighth bhūmi, and after the nirvāṇa of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, their tathāgatagarbha is named the vipāka-consciousness (异熟识). When śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas enter nirvāṇa without remainder, they relinquish the *name* of ālayavijñāna, not the essence of the ālayavijñāna, and still less can they relinquish the essence of the vipāka-consciousness. When a bodhisattva of wondrous awakening (妙觉) is about to attain buddhahood, he relinquishes the *name* of the vipāka-consciousness of the tathāgatagarbha, but he cannot relinquish the essence of the vipāka-consciousness. The essence truly exists, neither arising nor ceasing; even a Buddha cannot relinquish it, let alone a bodhisattva. If the essence of the vipāka-consciousness could be relinquished, all dharmas would cease to exist and could never arise again; there would never again be the five aggregates, nor any nirvāṇa, nor any buddhas or worlds. Only the buddhas, who have eliminated all vipāka nature and all ignorance, can relinquish the *name* of the vipāka-consciousness. Even a bodhisattva of the highest stage (等觉) cannot relinquish the name of the vipāka-consciousness—how much less could arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and solitary-realization buddhas do so.