Without realizing tathāgatagarbha, can one eradicate self-attachment?

Arhats have not realized the tathāgatagarbha—haven't they still eradicated the grasping on self? The same is true for pratyekabuddhas and those awakened through conditions (pratyaya): without realizing the tathāgatagarbha, they can still eradicate grasping. In meditative concentration (dhyāna) at the level of the first dhyāna and above, by thoroughly and completely contemplating the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) and the eighteen realms, eradicating all afflictions, the grasping on self is completely eliminated; with no lingering attachment to the three realms, one is guaranteed to depart at the end of life and never return.

As for the eradication of the grasping on self by Mahāyāna bodhisattvas: only after realizing the tathāgatagarbha, then passing through the contemplation of illusion and the contemplation of the mirage, passing the three barriers of the Chan school, and passing the contemplation of a dream, does one enter the first bhūmi and only then gain the ability to eradicate the grasping on self—but it cannot be completely eradicated, for if it were completely eradicated, one would enter nirvāṇa without remainder (Anupadhiśeṣa-nirvāṇa).

Without the meditative concentration of the first dhyāna, the contemplation of the mirage, and the three barriers of the Chan school—don't even think about it. For some people, even the first barrier is not a genuine realization, yet they contemplate the contemplation of a dream day after day, without any meditative concentration, and as they contemplate, they come to feel that they have realized the contemplation of a dream—how enormous this misunderstanding is. Generally speaking, from the first enlightenment to the contemplation of a dream requires the passage of several great kalpas; it is impossible to cultivate to the contemplation of a dream within a single lifetime. Moreover, without cultivating meditative concentration, no contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā) can even enter the gate.

After entering the bhūmis, one begins to eradicate the grasping on dharmas. The grasping on dharmas is very deep and subtle; the wisdom of the Small Vehicle cannot eradicate it. Only the wisdom of bhūmi bodhisattvas who have realized the tathāgatagarbha has the ability to eradicate the grasping on dharmas. When one realizes that each and every subtle dharma is born and sustained by the tathāgatagarbha, that none of them is real, and that all are without self, one eradicates one instance of the grasping on dharmas.

Can everyone now understand what is meant by genuine cultivation? What is "genuine," and what is "cultivation"? Everyone claims to be engaged in genuine cultivation, but apart from any one of precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom, there is neither "genuine" nor "cultivation." That is just how it is—no matter who refuses to accept it, it makes no difference.