1 00:00:00,422 --> 00:00:01,417 the trump card of the Lankavatara Sutra 2 00:00:01,782 --> 00:00:03,597 Buddhist scholars have argued over it for a thousand years 3 00:00:03,862 --> 00:00:04,716 in the last episode 4 00:00:04,782 --> 00:00:09,260 we talked about why the Lankavatara Sutra could feed both Yogacara and Zen 5 00:00:09,262 --> 00:00:11,756 two traditions that look completely opposed 6 00:00:11,981 --> 00:00:12,696 but at the end 7 00:00:12,901 --> 00:00:14,237 I left a hook hanging 8 00:00:14,582 --> 00:00:16,236 the alaya consciousness is not the end point 9 00:00:16,501 --> 00:00:18,996 behind the churning of seeds and the projecting 10 00:00:19,021 --> 00:00:21,036 something even deeper is still hidden 11 00:00:21,542 --> 00:00:21,896 today 12 00:00:22,222 --> 00:00:23,836 we are going to open up that layer 13 00:00:24,577 --> 00:00:24,893 hello 14 00:00:25,137 --> 00:00:25,612 hi everyone 15 00:00:25,737 --> 00:00:26,672 I am Leo Wang 16 00:00:26,937 --> 00:00:29,472 across the previous eleven episodes of our deep dive into Yogacara 17 00:00:29,577 --> 00:00:31,913 we kept building everything around the alaya consciousness 18 00:00:32,178 --> 00:00:34,272 by now you should know it well 19 00:00:34,657 --> 00:00:35,812 seeds are stored there 20 00:00:36,218 --> 00:00:37,913 active manifestations arise from there 21 00:00:38,098 --> 00:00:40,113 the engine of rebirth runs there 22 00:00:40,418 --> 00:00:41,852 the foundation of the entire consciousness system 23 00:00:42,098 --> 00:00:43,352 is the alaya consciousness 24 00:00:43,617 --> 00:00:47,473 every frame of reality you see think and feel 25 00:00:47,498 --> 00:00:48,833 is being projected by it 26 00:00:50,079 --> 00:00:52,134 but the Lankavatara Sutra says one line 27 00:00:52,199 --> 00:00:56,093 a line that started an argument in Buddhist history that has never ended 28 00:00:56,439 --> 00:00:56,793 it says 29 00:00:57,079 --> 00:00:57,833 the alaya consciousness 30 00:00:58,199 --> 00:00:59,494 is the tathagatagarbha 31 00:00:59,998 --> 00:01:01,397 in plain language that means 32 00:01:01,399 --> 00:01:04,454 that seed warehouse that foundation of consciousness you had in mind 33 00:01:04,519 --> 00:01:05,673 it has another name 34 00:01:05,918 --> 00:01:07,134 it is called the tathagatagarbha 35 00:01:07,765 --> 00:01:08,566 wait a second 36 00:01:08,918 --> 00:01:10,033 what is the tathagatagarbha 37 00:01:11,111 --> 00:01:14,165 let me tell you how I felt when I first ran into this idea 38 00:01:14,551 --> 00:01:17,405 I had just finished the core Yogacara texts 39 00:01:17,590 --> 00:01:21,926 my head was full of precision parts like the eight consciousnesses seeds and the three natures 40 00:01:22,191 --> 00:01:23,965 then I turned to a passage that said 41 00:01:24,070 --> 00:01:25,765 there is a Buddha hidden inside you 42 00:01:26,310 --> 00:01:27,685 my first reaction was 43 00:01:27,831 --> 00:01:30,325 this does not line up with anything I just learned 44 00:01:30,580 --> 00:01:31,614 the word tathagatagarbha 45 00:01:31,979 --> 00:01:32,875 take it apart 46 00:01:33,339 --> 00:01:33,735 tathagata 47 00:01:34,140 --> 00:01:34,994 means Buddha 48 00:01:35,459 --> 00:01:35,655 garbha 49 00:01:36,140 --> 00:01:37,515 means womb 50 00:01:37,819 --> 00:01:40,474 you can also read it as containing or holding 51 00:01:40,979 --> 00:01:42,214 so tathagatagarbha means 52 00:01:42,619 --> 00:01:43,634 inside your mind 53 00:01:43,660 --> 00:01:44,714 a Buddha is hidden 54 00:01:45,140 --> 00:01:47,274 it is not something you get after you become a Buddha 55 00:01:47,379 --> 00:01:49,474 even while you are still spinning in rebirth 56 00:01:49,619 --> 00:01:51,474 Buddha nature is already there 57 00:01:51,739 --> 00:01:53,455 it is just covered over by afflictions 58 00:01:53,580 --> 00:01:54,515 so you cannot see it 59 00:01:55,131 --> 00:01:56,107 here is an analogy 60 00:01:56,571 --> 00:01:58,426 you have an old mirror at home 61 00:01:58,771 --> 00:02:00,206 the surface was clean to begin with 62 00:02:00,452 --> 00:02:01,666 it could reflect anything 63 00:02:02,012 --> 00:02:04,827 but it sat in the attic for decades 64 00:02:05,051 --> 00:02:06,387 covered in dust 65 00:02:06,851 --> 00:02:09,306 so thick you forgot it was a mirror 66 00:02:09,571 --> 00:02:11,826 you thought it was just a dirty board 67 00:02:12,212 --> 00:02:13,647 but the mirror is not broken 68 00:02:13,891 --> 00:02:14,931 wipe off the dust 69 00:02:14,932 --> 00:02:16,106 and it reflects just as before 70 00:02:16,571 --> 00:02:18,166 the original face of that mirror 71 00:02:18,492 --> 00:02:19,627 is the tathagatagarbha 72 00:02:19,932 --> 00:02:20,726 and the dust 73 00:02:21,092 --> 00:02:23,666 is affliction ignorance and habitual tendencies 74 00:02:24,384 --> 00:02:27,518 the tathagatagarbha idea has a long history in Buddhism 75 00:02:27,704 --> 00:02:29,022 before the Lankavatara Sutra 76 00:02:29,023 --> 00:02:31,599 several sutras had already taught this concept 77 00:02:31,664 --> 00:02:34,702 the Tathagatagarbha Sutra the Srimala Sutra the Sutra of Neither Increase Nor Decrease 78 00:02:34,704 --> 00:02:36,199 all saying the same thing 79 00:02:36,384 --> 00:02:37,458 you were always a Buddha 80 00:02:37,784 --> 00:02:39,118 you were just covered up 81 00:02:39,732 --> 00:02:42,146 but these texts share one problem 82 00:02:42,651 --> 00:02:46,986 they make the tathagatagarbha sound too much like something eternal and unchanging 83 00:02:47,211 --> 00:02:48,607 you have a pure original mind 84 00:02:48,931 --> 00:02:49,971 neither born nor destroyed 85 00:02:49,972 --> 00:02:50,767 neither defiled nor pure 86 00:02:51,091 --> 00:02:52,227 complete from the start 87 00:02:52,452 --> 00:02:53,986 it sounds beautiful 88 00:02:54,211 --> 00:02:55,387 but here is the problem 89 00:02:55,452 --> 00:02:58,146 it sounds far too much like the Hindu idea of Brahman and Atman 90 00:02:59,059 --> 00:03:00,014 what does Hinduism say 91 00:03:00,380 --> 00:03:02,375 it says you have a true self 92 00:03:02,619 --> 00:03:03,714 called Atman 93 00:03:04,019 --> 00:03:07,595 Atman is eternal unchanging and pure 94 00:03:07,820 --> 00:03:10,475 practice means finding that true self 95 00:03:10,500 --> 00:03:11,499 and returning to Brahman 96 00:03:11,500 --> 00:03:13,774 what was the most central teaching of the Buddha 97 00:03:14,267 --> 00:03:15,066 no self 98 00:03:15,380 --> 00:03:17,834 there is no permanent unchanging self 99 00:03:18,100 --> 00:03:20,014 all phenomena arise dependently 100 00:03:20,339 --> 00:03:21,475 nothing has an intrinsic nature 101 00:03:21,966 --> 00:03:22,1000 do you see the contradiction 102 00:03:23,486 --> 00:03:27,061 tathagatagarbha says you already have a pure Buddha nature 103 00:03:27,445 --> 00:03:30,540 no self says nothing has a permanent essence 104 00:03:30,885 --> 00:03:31,720 these two claims 105 00:03:32,045 --> 00:03:33,940 look like they are fighting 106 00:03:34,285 --> 00:03:36,805 this is why the tathagatagarbha idea 107 00:03:36,806 --> 00:03:38,621 terrified half the Buddhist scholars 108 00:03:39,246 --> 00:03:41,700 Madhyamaka scholars saw the tathagatagarbha 109 00:03:41,725 --> 00:03:42,940 and their first reaction was 110 00:03:42,966 --> 00:03:45,121 is this not just a Buddhist version of Brahman and Atman 111 00:03:45,646 --> 00:03:46,925 you changed the label 112 00:03:46,926 --> 00:03:49,021 renamed Atman as tathagatagarbha 113 00:03:49,206 --> 00:03:51,061 renamed Brahman as dharmakaya 114 00:03:51,285 --> 00:03:52,121 the packaging changed 115 00:03:52,406 --> 00:03:53,500 the core did not 116 00:03:53,806 --> 00:03:56,781 this is Hinduism smuggled into Buddhism 117 00:03:57,171 --> 00:03:58,945 the Yogacara side was uneasy too 118 00:03:59,250 --> 00:04:01,185 the alaya consciousness is their core concept 119 00:04:01,570 --> 00:04:02,885 it is the warehouse of seeds 120 00:04:03,171 --> 00:04:04,866 the platform where cause and effect run 121 00:04:05,331 --> 00:04:06,646 in itself it is neutral 122 00:04:06,970 --> 00:04:08,065 neither good nor bad 123 00:04:08,211 --> 00:04:09,465 flowing along with conditions 124 00:04:09,771 --> 00:04:11,785 it is not something permanent and unchanging 125 00:04:12,010 --> 00:04:14,106 it changes every single moment 126 00:04:14,995 --> 00:04:15,829 and what about the tathagatagarbha 127 00:04:16,275 --> 00:04:19,150 it is described as originally pure and unchanging 128 00:04:19,354 --> 00:04:20,850 complete with every virtue 129 00:04:21,035 --> 00:04:21,669 one changes 130 00:04:21,994 --> 00:04:22,929 one does not 131 00:04:23,114 --> 00:04:23,830 one is neutral 132 00:04:24,155 --> 00:04:25,129 one is pure 133 00:04:25,314 --> 00:04:26,470 one is a warehouse of seeds 134 00:04:26,674 --> 00:04:28,049 one is the embryo of a Buddha 135 00:04:28,275 --> 00:04:30,109 how could they possibly be the same thing 136 00:04:31,054 --> 00:04:33,030 yet the Lankavatara Sutra says exactly that 137 00:04:33,494 --> 00:04:34,210 the alaya consciousness 138 00:04:34,574 --> 00:04:35,749 is the tathagatagarbha 139 00:04:36,175 --> 00:04:37,453 I thought about this for a long time 140 00:04:37,454 --> 00:04:39,509 then one day I found an angle 141 00:04:39,535 --> 00:04:40,670 and it clicked 142 00:04:40,895 --> 00:04:42,790 the key is to be clear about 143 00:04:42,814 --> 00:04:45,949 in what sense the sutra calls them the same thing 144 00:04:46,374 --> 00:04:50,230 it is not saying the two work identically 145 00:04:50,614 --> 00:04:51,290 it is saying 146 00:04:51,694 --> 00:04:53,429 the alaya consciousness and the tathagatagarbha 147 00:04:53,494 --> 00:04:55,949 are two states of the same thing 148 00:04:56,254 --> 00:04:57,910 or more precisely 149 00:04:58,014 --> 00:05:00,949 two ways the same thing is seen 150 00:05:01,630 --> 00:05:02,846 picture this 151 00:05:03,270 --> 00:05:04,265 you have a computer 152 00:05:04,551 --> 00:05:05,726 you have used it for years 153 00:05:06,190 --> 00:05:08,926 the system is loaded with countless programs 154 00:05:09,070 --> 00:05:11,125 infected with viruses and trojans 155 00:05:11,270 --> 00:05:13,926 running background processes you never knew about 156 00:05:14,111 --> 00:05:15,426 now it is slow and laggy 157 00:05:15,671 --> 00:05:17,046 and it freezes constantly 158 00:05:17,270 --> 00:05:18,505 this computer is a mess 159 00:05:18,830 --> 00:05:19,145 right 160 00:05:19,911 --> 00:05:20,666 but remember 161 00:05:20,991 --> 00:05:22,686 when it left the factory 162 00:05:22,830 --> 00:05:23,926 it was clean 163 00:05:24,231 --> 00:05:29,565 the system was original pure and every driver worked 164 00:05:29,750 --> 00:05:31,726 that factory state machine 165 00:05:31,871 --> 00:05:34,525 and the frozen machine in front of you 166 00:05:34,590 --> 00:05:36,125 are the same computer 167 00:05:36,612 --> 00:05:38,667 the tathagatagarbha is the factory state 168 00:05:38,773 --> 00:05:42,787 the alaya consciousness is the cluttered machine in front of you 169 00:05:43,092 --> 00:05:45,107 when the sutra calls them the same thing 170 00:05:45,373 --> 00:05:47,748 it does not mean they function identically 171 00:05:48,213 --> 00:05:49,268 it means 172 00:05:49,292 --> 00:05:51,667 inside this frozen machine of yours 173 00:05:51,732 --> 00:05:53,828 the factory state never disappeared 174 00:05:54,253 --> 00:05:55,547 the system disk is still there 175 00:05:55,893 --> 00:05:57,068 you cannot delete it 176 00:05:57,453 --> 00:05:58,248 however many viruses there are 177 00:05:58,573 --> 00:06:00,427 they only run on top of it 178 00:06:00,813 --> 00:06:02,667 once you clear the viruses out 179 00:06:02,732 --> 00:06:05,028 you are not looking at a new computer 180 00:06:05,092 --> 00:06:07,907 but the old one restored to factory state 181 00:06:09,155 --> 00:06:11,210 this is a very subtle distinction 182 00:06:11,595 --> 00:06:14,970 because it satisfies two seemingly contradictory demands at once 183 00:06:15,554 --> 00:06:17,090 from the practice side 184 00:06:17,234 --> 00:06:20,410 you really do have a pure nature that can be restored 185 00:06:20,874 --> 00:06:23,730 you are not building a Buddha from scratch 186 00:06:24,155 --> 00:06:25,549 a Buddha is not manufactured 187 00:06:25,915 --> 00:06:27,369 a Buddha is recovered 188 00:06:27,715 --> 00:06:30,009 that satisfies the tathagatagarbha side 189 00:06:30,963 --> 00:06:32,698 but from the doctrinal side 190 00:06:32,723 --> 00:06:34,698 everything you experience right now 191 00:06:34,802 --> 00:06:37,198 including the self you assume your memories 192 00:06:37,403 --> 00:06:39,417 your emotions your worldview 193 00:06:39,482 --> 00:06:41,297 was all installed later 194 00:06:41,362 --> 00:06:43,098 none of it is permanent 195 00:06:43,283 --> 00:06:45,377 ignorance was added later 196 00:06:45,403 --> 00:06:47,417 affliction was added later 197 00:06:47,443 --> 00:06:48,557 the self you cling to 198 00:06:48,883 --> 00:06:50,338 was added later 199 00:06:50,482 --> 00:06:52,497 that satisfies the no self side 200 00:06:52,682 --> 00:06:53,857 no self says 201 00:06:53,963 --> 00:06:56,258 none of the things added later 202 00:06:56,482 --> 00:06:58,018 has an intrinsic nature 203 00:06:58,283 --> 00:06:59,578 tathagatagarbha says 204 00:06:59,643 --> 00:07:02,018 once you take all of that away 205 00:07:02,122 --> 00:07:03,278 what remains 206 00:07:03,602 --> 00:07:05,018 was there all along 207 00:07:06,020 --> 00:07:06,654 do you see it 208 00:07:07,340 --> 00:07:08,474 they do not contradict 209 00:07:08,820 --> 00:07:11,075 they describe different layers of the same thing 210 00:07:11,619 --> 00:07:14,234 but the sutra did something even sharper 211 00:07:14,619 --> 00:07:17,395 it did not just stitch the two concepts together 212 00:07:17,460 --> 00:07:20,234 it also predicted the misunderstanding you would have 213 00:07:20,860 --> 00:07:21,855 there is a passage in the text 214 00:07:22,261 --> 00:07:24,036 where the Buddha tells Bodhisattva Mahamati 215 00:07:24,101 --> 00:07:24,495 Mahamati 216 00:07:24,820 --> 00:07:26,060 when I speak of the tathagatagarbha 217 00:07:26,060 --> 00:07:28,235 it is not the self taught by the non Buddhist schools 218 00:07:28,500 --> 00:07:28,855 Mahamati 219 00:07:29,141 --> 00:07:30,055 when I speak of the tathagatagarbha 220 00:07:30,380 --> 00:07:31,675 sometimes I call it emptiness 221 00:07:31,740 --> 00:07:32,456 sometimes signlessness 222 00:07:32,661 --> 00:07:33,636 sometimes wishlessness 223 00:07:33,860 --> 00:07:34,976 why do I speak this way 224 00:07:35,380 --> 00:07:38,355 because some beings panic the moment they hear no self 225 00:07:38,541 --> 00:07:40,100 they fear having no self 226 00:07:40,101 --> 00:07:41,836 they fear having nowhere to put themselves 227 00:07:42,101 --> 00:07:44,019 so I use the word tathagatagarbha 228 00:07:44,021 --> 00:07:45,396 to give them a bridge 229 00:07:45,420 --> 00:07:47,875 a step they can climb 230 00:07:48,101 --> 00:07:49,336 and once they have climbed up 231 00:07:49,620 --> 00:07:50,716 then I tell them 232 00:07:50,740 --> 00:07:52,416 the railing you were holding 233 00:07:52,740 --> 00:07:53,795 let that go too 234 00:07:54,378 --> 00:07:56,094 do you feel the weight of that passage 235 00:07:56,738 --> 00:07:57,454 the Buddha is saying 236 00:07:57,859 --> 00:08:00,154 the tathagatagarbha is skillful means 237 00:08:00,618 --> 00:08:03,914 he knew telling beings straight out that there is no self is too much 238 00:08:04,019 --> 00:08:05,274 most people cannot take it 239 00:08:05,498 --> 00:08:06,493 so he says first 240 00:08:06,899 --> 00:08:08,154 you have a Buddha nature 241 00:08:08,258 --> 00:08:10,753 it is pure and it was always there 242 00:08:10,818 --> 00:08:12,133 then once you have confidence 243 00:08:12,419 --> 00:08:13,777 once you start practicing 244 00:08:13,779 --> 00:08:15,053 once you go deep enough 245 00:08:15,258 --> 00:08:16,313 he tells you 246 00:08:16,339 --> 00:08:18,173 even the concept of Buddha nature itself 247 00:08:18,539 --> 00:08:19,714 must not be clung to 248 00:08:20,406 --> 00:08:22,422 you have probably had a similar experience 249 00:08:22,766 --> 00:08:25,341 you teach a kid who cannot swim to get in the water 250 00:08:25,766 --> 00:08:28,341 you do not throw him straight into the deep end 251 00:08:28,406 --> 00:08:30,821 telling him the water is safe do not be afraid 252 00:08:31,287 --> 00:08:32,862 you give him a kickboard first 253 00:08:33,206 --> 00:08:33,521 you say 254 00:08:33,847 --> 00:08:35,341 hold this and you will not sink 255 00:08:35,766 --> 00:08:37,162 he gets in holding the board 256 00:08:37,566 --> 00:08:38,581 kicks a few times 257 00:08:38,607 --> 00:08:39,861 and finds he really does not sink 258 00:08:40,086 --> 00:08:40,601 slowly 259 00:08:40,726 --> 00:08:42,461 he stops being afraid of the water 260 00:08:42,647 --> 00:08:43,201 then you say 261 00:08:43,527 --> 00:08:45,262 now try letting go 262 00:08:45,695 --> 00:08:47,231 the kickboard is the tathagatagarbha 263 00:08:47,775 --> 00:08:49,111 the water is emptiness 264 00:08:49,535 --> 00:08:50,731 the kid afraid of the water 265 00:08:50,976 --> 00:08:52,631 is the being afraid of no self 266 00:08:52,976 --> 00:08:56,150 by putting the tathagatagarbha and the alaya consciousness together 267 00:08:56,216 --> 00:08:57,351 the sutra is telling you 268 00:08:57,376 --> 00:09:00,030 the board and the water are the same thing 269 00:09:00,415 --> 00:09:04,734 you thought the board was solid firm something to hold forever 270 00:09:04,736 --> 00:09:05,710 it is not 271 00:09:05,856 --> 00:09:07,430 the board is made of water 272 00:09:07,496 --> 00:09:09,615 when you hold it it holds you up 273 00:09:09,616 --> 00:09:11,790 when you let go it is still water 274 00:09:12,732 --> 00:09:16,627 this is the sutra at its best on the tathagatagarbha question 275 00:09:17,012 --> 00:09:18,948 it did not dodge the tathagatagarbha 276 00:09:19,252 --> 00:09:21,251 unlike some Madhyamaka scholars 277 00:09:21,252 --> 00:09:24,428 who simply denied it had any real meaning 278 00:09:24,732 --> 00:09:28,387 nor did it turn the tathagatagarbha into an eternal unchanging entity 279 00:09:28,612 --> 00:09:30,668 unlike some tathagatagarbha theorists 280 00:09:30,693 --> 00:09:33,268 who made Buddha nature into an immortal soul 281 00:09:33,732 --> 00:09:35,908 it avoided both extremes 282 00:09:36,211 --> 00:09:36,567 it says 283 00:09:36,892 --> 00:09:38,411 the tathagatagarbha is real 284 00:09:38,412 --> 00:09:40,506 but not real in the way you assume 285 00:09:40,652 --> 00:09:41,970 the way it exists 286 00:09:41,971 --> 00:09:44,307 is not like a stone sitting there 287 00:09:44,412 --> 00:09:46,346 it is more like the wetness of water 288 00:09:46,731 --> 00:09:47,846 you say water is wet 289 00:09:48,211 --> 00:09:49,187 and that is true 290 00:09:49,292 --> 00:09:51,890 but you cannot take the wetness out of the water 291 00:09:51,892 --> 00:09:53,307 and set it on the table by itself 292 00:09:53,652 --> 00:09:55,866 wetness is not a part inside water 293 00:09:56,012 --> 00:09:57,547 it is the nature of water 294 00:09:57,851 --> 00:09:59,506 the tathagatagarbha is the same 295 00:09:59,611 --> 00:10:01,506 it is the nature of the alaya consciousness 296 00:10:01,692 --> 00:10:05,387 you cannot find a separate thing called tathagatagarbha beside it 297 00:10:05,851 --> 00:10:09,027 once you clear away every defilement on the alaya consciousness 298 00:10:09,091 --> 00:10:10,907 the original face of the alaya consciousness 299 00:10:10,932 --> 00:10:12,106 is the tathagatagarbha 300 00:10:12,668 --> 00:10:15,403 a viewer once wrote something in the comments 301 00:10:15,788 --> 00:10:16,142 he said 302 00:10:16,548 --> 00:10:19,146 the tathagatagarbha is not a region of the brain 303 00:10:19,148 --> 00:10:21,043 not a neural circuit 304 00:10:21,068 --> 00:10:23,082 not a chemical 305 00:10:23,267 --> 00:10:24,347 it is more like 306 00:10:24,347 --> 00:10:27,203 when you switch off all the noise 307 00:10:27,227 --> 00:10:28,803 the silence itself 308 00:10:29,068 --> 00:10:31,722 not something standing behind the silence 309 00:10:31,867 --> 00:10:35,163 the silence itself is the original face 310 00:10:35,707 --> 00:10:37,323 I think about that line often 311 00:10:37,908 --> 00:10:42,362 because it lands exactly on the core of how the two relate 312 00:10:42,828 --> 00:10:45,722 you are not digging another hole under consciousness 313 00:10:45,908 --> 00:10:48,082 to find a treasure called tathagatagarbha 314 00:10:48,467 --> 00:10:52,403 you are peeling off the layers piled on top of consciousness 315 00:10:52,627 --> 00:10:54,163 one layer at a time 316 00:10:54,908 --> 00:10:55,622 and when they are gone 317 00:10:55,948 --> 00:10:57,762 you are not seeing something new 318 00:10:58,068 --> 00:11:00,203 you are seeing what it always was 319 00:11:00,907 --> 00:11:04,282 this is why the Lankavatara Sutra matters so much in Buddhist history 320 00:11:04,588 --> 00:11:05,562 before it 321 00:11:05,628 --> 00:11:08,202 tathagatagarbha and Yogacara were parallel lines 322 00:11:08,508 --> 00:11:11,922 the tathagatagarbha sutras taught innate Buddha nature and original purity 323 00:11:12,348 --> 00:11:16,562 the Yogacara treatises taught alaya consciousness seed streams and causal continuity 324 00:11:16,787 --> 00:11:19,442 they looked like completely different subjects 325 00:11:19,907 --> 00:11:23,963 the Lankavatara Sutra was the first to pull the two lines together explicitly 326 00:11:24,307 --> 00:11:24,702 it says 327 00:11:25,067 --> 00:11:26,483 these are not two things 328 00:11:26,508 --> 00:11:27,802 this is one thing 329 00:11:28,027 --> 00:11:29,302 look at it analytically 330 00:11:29,628 --> 00:11:31,003 and it is called the alaya consciousness 331 00:11:31,187 --> 00:11:32,463 look at it through realization 332 00:11:32,707 --> 00:11:33,843 and it is called the tathagatagarbha 333 00:11:34,403 --> 00:11:36,579 but this stitching left a problem 334 00:11:36,883 --> 00:11:39,498 one that is still not fully solved today 335 00:11:39,844 --> 00:11:42,699 if the tathagatagarbha is just the original face of the alaya consciousness 336 00:11:42,804 --> 00:11:44,918 then is the tathagatagarbha existent or empty 337 00:11:45,483 --> 00:11:46,079 say it exists 338 00:11:46,363 --> 00:11:47,319 and what happens to no self 339 00:11:47,804 --> 00:11:48,479 say it is empty 340 00:11:48,804 --> 00:11:50,758 and what exactly is practice restoring 341 00:11:51,204 --> 00:11:52,278 if everything is empty 342 00:11:52,564 --> 00:11:53,762 and the restoring is empty too 343 00:11:53,763 --> 00:11:56,199 what is the point of practice at all 344 00:11:56,684 --> 00:11:58,762 the sutra opened this question 345 00:11:58,763 --> 00:12:00,179 but it did not close it for you 346 00:12:00,684 --> 00:12:02,059 it left a crack 347 00:12:02,703 --> 00:12:03,982 the Buddhist history that followed 348 00:12:03,983 --> 00:12:06,478 can almost be read as different schools 349 00:12:06,502 --> 00:12:09,078 answering that crack in different ways 350 00:12:09,502 --> 00:12:10,137 Madhyamaka says 351 00:12:10,542 --> 00:12:11,757 the tathagatagarbha is empty 352 00:12:12,303 --> 00:12:12,938 Yogacara says 353 00:12:13,303 --> 00:12:15,757 the alaya consciousness transformed at its base is the tathagatagarbha 354 00:12:16,262 --> 00:12:17,338 the tathagatagarbha school says 355 00:12:17,862 --> 00:12:18,897 Buddha nature truly exists 356 00:12:19,183 --> 00:12:19,997 it is not empty 357 00:12:20,583 --> 00:12:21,218 Zen says 358 00:12:21,542 --> 00:12:22,541 stop arguing 359 00:12:22,542 --> 00:12:23,178 go back and sit 360 00:12:23,542 --> 00:12:25,478 sit long enough and you will know 361 00:12:25,902 --> 00:12:27,757 every answer makes sense 362 00:12:27,983 --> 00:12:31,037 and every answer has been attacked by another school 363 00:12:31,502 --> 00:12:32,661 for over a thousand years 364 00:12:32,662 --> 00:12:35,478 this question has never been settled 365 00:12:35,902 --> 00:12:37,917 maybe it does not need to be 366 00:12:38,223 --> 00:12:40,157 maybe the crack itself 367 00:12:40,183 --> 00:12:42,997 is the most precious thing the sutra left us 368 00:12:43,379 --> 00:12:44,515 try this 369 00:12:44,940 --> 00:12:47,155 right now you are experiencing a world 370 00:12:47,420 --> 00:12:50,454 a world with color sound emotion 371 00:12:50,780 --> 00:12:52,635 memory and expectation of the future 372 00:12:52,979 --> 00:12:55,138 in the framework we built earlier 373 00:12:55,140 --> 00:12:57,994 all of it is projected by the alaya consciousness 374 00:12:58,260 --> 00:12:59,094 seeds churn 375 00:12:59,379 --> 00:13:00,635 and become your experience 376 00:13:00,979 --> 00:13:01,854 but what if one day 377 00:13:02,300 --> 00:13:04,194 every seed is purified 378 00:13:04,339 --> 00:13:05,935 and every projection stops 379 00:13:06,499 --> 00:13:07,895 what is left then 380 00:13:08,923 --> 00:13:09,939 you say you do not know 381 00:13:10,011 --> 00:13:10,811 right 382 00:13:11,003 --> 00:13:12,059 you cannot say it 383 00:13:12,324 --> 00:13:14,083 because the moment you say it 384 00:13:14,084 --> 00:13:15,418 the thing you said 385 00:13:15,564 --> 00:13:17,219 becomes another concept 386 00:13:17,283 --> 00:13:20,699 another fresh projection layered on the alaya consciousness 387 00:13:21,737 --> 00:13:22,553 the tathagatagarbha 388 00:13:22,697 --> 00:13:24,793 may be exactly the thing you cannot say 389 00:13:25,298 --> 00:13:26,673 it is not an answer 390 00:13:27,097 --> 00:13:28,352 it is a pointing 391 00:13:28,857 --> 00:13:29,932 and the direction it points 392 00:13:30,298 --> 00:13:32,112 you can only walk there and see for yourself 393 00:13:32,767 --> 00:13:33,282 next episode 394 00:13:33,527 --> 00:13:34,941 we leave the Lankavatara Sutra 395 00:13:34,966 --> 00:13:38,662 for another treatise that shaped Chinese Buddhism deeply 396 00:13:38,806 --> 00:13:40,142 the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana 397 00:13:40,367 --> 00:13:42,301 it does something even bolder 398 00:13:42,446 --> 00:13:45,542 it takes tathagatagarbha alaya consciousness and the mind of suchness 399 00:13:45,566 --> 00:13:47,821 and fuses all three completely 400 00:13:47,926 --> 00:13:48,841 in just four characters 401 00:13:49,167 --> 00:13:50,341 one mind two gates 402 00:13:50,527 --> 00:13:51,201 I am Leo Wang 403 00:13:51,487 --> 00:13:52,581 see you next episode