How to Realize Tathāgatagarbha

Realizing the Tathāgatagarbha is akin to finding a person; there is not much difference between the two. Suppose we wish to find a person. After pondering and searching, we finally determine that this person is in a specific location within a certain area, feeling very certain in our minds, yet without having seen this person with our own eyes. Does this count as having found the person? As long as we have not seen this person and have not truly faced them, it does not count as having seen them. Even if we are utterly convinced that they are in that place, if we have not met them, it still does not constitute seeing them. Because we do not know what this person looks like, what they are truly doing at this moment, how they are doing it, what their state of mind is, or what their cultivation and character are like, we have no real understanding or knowledge of this person. We do not know if the person in that place is the one we are seeking, nor do we know if there is truly such a person there. If it is not seen with the eyes, it cannot be considered real; what is guessed or imagined in the mind cannot be counted as genuine realization.

No matter how certain you are in your heart that the person is at that location, in that very room, and even if the person is indeed in the room, as long as you have not seen them with your own eyes, it does not count as having seen them. Only when you actually find the person and see with your own eyes what they are doing and how they are doing it can it be called witnessing with your own eyes. No matter how much you believe that the person is in the room, if you do not know what they are specifically doing at that moment or how they are doing it, no wisdom whatsoever will arise. Guessing what the person is specifically doing in the room and how they are doing it—even if the guess is correct—does not constitute a wisdom-based realization.

Another example: Suppose your leader tells you to find a certain Mr. A and see what he is doing. You roughly know that Mr. A is far away, and going to find him would be arduous. After stepping out and wandering around for a bit, you no longer wish to go, but you still must complete the task assigned by your leader. So you inquire everywhere and finally learn that Mr. A is on the eleventh floor of a certain building. You then roughly guess that he might be sleeping. You return and report to the leader, "Mr. A is on the eleventh floor. As for what he is doing, it’s probably the usual things; nothing out of the ordinary."

Does this count as having found Mr. A? This is speculation, guessing what Mr. A is doing. Even if you guessed correctly, and your inquiries were accurate, and Mr. A is indeed doing that, it still is not personally witnessed. Only by personally meeting Mr. A can you observe him face to face, continuously giving rise to the wisdom of recognizing and discerning him, and thus learn from him. What is imagined or guessed will never give birth to such wisdom. Many people have been "awakened" for many years yet remain stagnant, with not a bit of wisdom gained. Why is that? Because it is not personally realized; it is merely understood intellectually. Consider this: When you are hungry, instead of bringing food before you and eating it, you imagine a bowl of rice in front of you. What can you accomplish next? Can you pick up the bowl, eat, and fill your stomach? Of course not; you will simply remain hungry.

There are quite a few people who speculate about the cultivation and realization state of an eighth-ground Bodhisattva, and some may even guess correctly. But even if the guess is perfectly accurate and true to reality, it is not personally attained; one still remains an ordinary being. The Goldbach conjecture is applied far too commonly and deeply in the Buddha Dharma. Why do these phenomena occur? Because truly realizing the Buddha Dharma is extremely difficult, so people resort to such inferior methods.

After truly realizing the Tathāgatagarbha, can one still regress? For example, suppose I tell you that Mr. A is in the room. At the time, you believe it very firmly, with great certainty and conviction. But since you did not see it with your own eyes, what will happen afterward? You will surely become doubtful and uncertain; suspicion will arise in your mind. However, what you have personally proven through immense hardship and witnessed with your own eyes will not give rise to doubt or regression. Seeing is believing; hearing is illusory. What others tell you, no matter how much you believe it, is not a fact for yourself. If you have never personally seen an apple or tasted one with your own mouth, no matter how others describe it, no matter how much you imagine or understand it, it is useless. You still will not know the true nature of the apple, nor can you absorb its nutrients.

Therefore, if I were to hold a grand assembly of ten thousand people and explain the functioning of the Tathāgatagarbha in such exhaustive detail that the masses all come to believe in and accept the Tathāgatagarbha Dharma door, simultaneously understanding and clearly comprehending the specific workings of the Tathāgatagarbha, then many people would excitedly say: "I am awakened! So this is how the Tathāgatagarbha functions; this is the Tathāgatagarbha!" How should I respond to so many people claiming to have attained awakening? Should I confirm that what they say is correct and even issue them certificates of awakening? This so-called "clarifying the mind" is not personally witnessing the functioning of the Tathāgatagarbha; it is all based on what I said, followed by conjecture and speculation, making them feel they have truly realized the Tathāgatagarbha. What will happen to these people afterward? What will happen after they die?

The notion that there can still be regression after so-called "clarifying the mind and seeing the nature" indicates that there was no true clarification of the mind and seeing of the nature. Without going through the process of investigation, merely hearing about it and deducing it through speculation and analysis, it is naturally possible to stop believing in such conjecture and analysis, leading to regression. Something obtained effortlessly, without undergoing the arduous process of cultivation, is like viewing flowers through mist—unclear and easily dismissed. Conjuring up a Tathāgatagarbha through guesswork cannot lead to genuine reliance upon it, nor will any subsequent meritorious benefits arise.

For example, just now I was thirsty, so I peeled an apple and ate it. If any of you were to find me and personally watch how I peel and eat the apple, you would learn from it. You would know how to peel an apple and how to eat it. Then, seeing that after peeling the apple, I leave the peel for the mice to eat, you would understand my compassionate heart and learn to do the same, thus also developing a compassionate nature. Further observing that while eating the apple, my mind does not give rise to greed, you would then learn how to prevent the mind from generating greed, hatred, or delusion, thus purifying the mind. These are the benefits of meeting me face to face; you can learn from me. Then, by following me constantly, observing how I conduct myself in the world, how my character is cultivated, and how I handle various matters specifically, you would learn many things. Your mental conduct, character, cultivation, and so on would all undergo changes. These are the benefits, or meritorious benefits, of finding me and following me.

Personally realizing the Tathāgatagarbha—not through hearing about it, not through oral transmission—allows one to observe firsthand how the Tathāgatagarbha functions in all dharmas, thereby learning many dharmas, and one’s mind-nature will increasingly resemble that of the Tathāgatagarbha. But relying on conjecture will never yield such meritorious benefits, because one cannot observe it firsthand.