The Most Subtle Aspects of the Buddha's Teachings Are Realized Through Individual Attainment

If you wish to attain true liberating wisdom, do not go about inquiring into the specific division of labor between the tathāgatagarbha and the manas with respect to all dharmas. To sort out the division of labor between the true mind and the deluded mind, and to clarify their respective functions, would be tantamount to directly pointing out which one is the tathāgatagarbha and which one is the manas. What would be the result of doing this? Is the idea that one could thus awaken directly, in a very convenient, effortless, and labor-saving way, without having to painstakingly study, cultivate, or investigate anything?

Each person's cultivation is each person's own attainment; do not expect to easily receive another's specific and detailed help. Whatever should be done by someone must be done by that person; no one can substitute for another, and it cannot be substituted. If the Buddha could awaken and attain buddhahood in place of sentient beings, He would only need to tell sentient beings all the secrets of every checkpoint from being a sentient being to the stage of buddhahood, and describe to them the scenery of the buddha stage; once sentient beings fully understood and knew it, they would become buddhas. How wonderful would that be? It would spare the Buddha any trouble and save sentient beings all effort, and everyone would be joyful. Could this actually work?

What should be done by the seven consciousnesses cannot be done by the tathāgatagarbha in their place, and what should be done by the tathāgatagarbha cannot be done by the seven consciousnesses in Its place. Otherwise, the tathāgatagarbha alone would suffice and could solve all problems, and the seven consciousnesses could do whatever they pleased—sleeping all day long or even perishing would be fine. In fact, none of this is the case: whoever eats the meal is the one who gets full.