All Beings Have the Tathāgatagarbha
The treatise's longest and most important chapter opens with its own ten-point outline — essence, cause, fruit, function, correspondence, manifestation, difference across time, pervasiveness, immutability, and non-differentiation — before working through the first two points: the tathāgatagarbha's essence, compared to a jewel, space, and water, and the four causes that counteract the four obstructions blocking the icchantika, the outsider, the śrāvaka, and the pratyekabuddha from seeing it.
The Ten-Point Outline
論曰：自此已後餘殘論偈，次第依彼四句廣差別說應知。此以何義？向前偈言：
真如有雜垢， 及遠離諸垢，
佛無量功德， 及佛所作業，
如是妙境界， 是諸佛所知，
依此妙法身， 出生於三寶。
此偈示現何義？如向所說，一切眾生有如來藏。彼依何義故如是說？偈言：
佛法身遍滿， 真如無差別，
皆實有佛性， 是故說常有。
此偈明何義？有三種義，是故如來說一切時一切眾生有如來藏。何等為三？一者如來法身遍在一切諸眾生身，偈言：佛法身遍滿故。二者如來真如無差別，偈言：真如無差別故。三者一切眾生皆悉實有真如佛性，偈言：皆實有佛性故。此三句義，自此下論依如來藏修多羅我後時說應知。如偈本言：
一切眾生界， 不離諸佛智，
以彼淨無垢， 性體不二故。
依一切諸佛， 平等法性身，
知一切眾生， 皆有如來藏。
體及因果業， 相應及以行，
時差別遍處， 不變無差別。
彼妙義次第， 第一真法性，
我如是略說， 汝今應善知。
此偈示現何義？略說此偈有十種義，依此十種說第一義實智境界佛性差別應知。何等為十？一者體、二者因、三者果、四者業、五者相應、六者行、七者時差別、八者遍一切處、九者不變、十者無差別。
The treatise states: From this point onward, the remaining verses of the treatise should be understood as explaining, in order, the broad distinctions belonging to these same four lines. What does this mean? The verse spoken before said:
Suchness mixed with stain, and suchness free of every stain;
the Buddha's immeasurable virtues; and the Buddha's own activity.
Such a wondrous domain is known only by the buddhas —
and it is in dependence on this wondrous dharmakāya that the Three Jewels arise.
What meaning does this verse reveal? As stated before, every being possesses the tathāgatagarbha. On what basis is this said? A verse says:
The Buddha's dharmakāya pervades and fills every being;
suchness admits of no distinction;
every being truly possesses buddha-nature —
and it is for this reason that it is said to be ever-present.
What meaning does this verse make clear? There are three reasons why the Tathāgata says that, at all times, every being possesses the tathāgatagarbha. What are the three? First, the Tathāgata's dharmakāya pervades and is present within the body of every being. Second, the Tathāgata's suchness admits of no distinction. Third, every being truly possesses the buddha-nature of suchness. These three points should be understood as what the treatise, from this point on, explains in dependence on the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra. As the root verse itself says:
The realm of every being is never apart from the wisdom of every buddha,
because that pure, stainless nature and essence is non-dual.
In dependence on the equal dharma-nature body of every buddha,
one knows that every being possesses the tathāgatagarbha.
Essence, and cause, fruit, and function; correspondence, and manifestation;
difference across time, and pervading every place; immutability, and non-differentiation.
This wondrous meaning, in this order, is the first, true dharma-nature —
I have thus briefly explained it; you should now understand it well.
What meaning does this verse reveal? Briefly stated, this verse has ten aspects, and it is by means of these ten that the distinctions of buddha-nature, the domain of the wisdom of the first principle, should be explained. What are the ten? First, essence; second, cause; third, fruit; fourth, function; fifth, correspondence; sixth, manifestation; seventh, difference across time; eighth, pervading every place; ninth, immutability; tenth, non-differentiation.
This ten-point outline governs the whole of the treatise's longest chapter, and this collection's remaining parts on the tathāgatagarbha will move through these ten points roughly in the order stated here — though not always at the same length, since the treatise itself lingers far longer over some points (fruit, and the nine similes still to come) than others. It is worth naming the three-part argument for "all beings have the tathāgatagarbha" plainly, since the chapter takes this as already established and spends the rest of its length working out the consequences: the Buddha's own dharmakāya pervades every being's body, suchness itself admits of no distinction between one being and another, and every being genuinely possesses the buddha-nature of suchness — three separate arguments for the same conclusion, not one argument restated three times.
Essence: A Jewel, Space, and Water
初依體因故說一偈：
自性常不染， 如寶空淨水，
信法及般若， 三昧大悲等。
此初半偈示現何義？偈言：
自在力不變， 思實體柔軟，
寶空水功德， 相似相對法。
此偈明何義？向說三種義，彼三種義次第依於自相同相。如來法身三種清淨功德，如如意寶珠、虛空、淨水相似相對法應知。此明何義？思者依如來法身，所思所修皆悉成就故。
To explain essence and cause first, a verse is spoken:
Its own nature is ever unstained, like a jewel, like space, like pure water;
faith in the Dharma, and prajñā, samādhi, and great compassion, and the rest.
What meaning does the first half of this verse reveal? A verse says:
Sovereign power, unchanging; being genuinely wished-for, and being gentle in essence —
these are the virtues resembling a jewel, space, and water.
What meaning does this verse make clear? The three meanings stated before correspond, in order, to their own marks and shared marks. The three pure virtues of the Tathāgata's dharmakāya should be known as resembling the wish-fulfilling jewel, empty space, and pure water. What does this clarify? "Being genuinely wished-for" means that, in dependence on the Tathāgata's dharmakāya, whatever is wished for and practiced is entirely accomplished.
These three similes for the tathāgatagarbha's own essence are brief here — a single line each — because the treatise will return to a far more developed set of similes later in this same chapter, once it turns to how the tathāgatagarbha is concealed rather than what it essentially is. The wish-fulfilling jewel in particular recurs across this site's tathāgatagarbha corpus, matched already in the Treatise on Buddha Nature and this treatise's own earlier chapters; its sovereign, unfailing power to grant whatever is asked of it is the recurring image this whole literature reaches for when describing a nature that already possesses everything it will ever need, requiring only that its concealment be removed.
Four Obstructions, and the Three Kinds of Being
後半偈者示現何義？偈言：
有四種障礙， 謗法及著我，
怖畏世間苦， 捨離諸眾生，
此偈明何義？偈言：
闡提及外道， 聲聞及自覺，
信等四種法， 清淨因應知。
此偈明何義？略說一切眾生界中有三種眾生。何等為三？一者求有、二者遠離求有、三者不求彼二。求有，有二種。何等為二？一者謗解脫道無涅槃性，常求住世間、不求證涅槃。二者於佛法中闡提同位，以謗大乘故。是故《不增不減經》言：舍利弗！若有比丘、比丘尼、優婆塞、優婆夷，若起一見、若起二見、諸佛如來非彼世尊，如是等人非我弟子。舍利弗！是人以起二見因緣，從闇入闇、從冥入冥，我說是等名一闡提故。偈言：謗法故、闡提故。
遠離求有者，亦有二種。何等為二？一者無求道方便、二者有求道方便。無求道方便者，亦有二種。何等為二？一者多種外道種種邪計，謂僧佉、衛世師、尼揵陀若提子等，無求道方便。二者於佛法中同外道行，雖信佛法而顛倒取。彼何者是？謂犢子等見身中有我等，不信第一義諦、不信真如法空，佛說彼人無異外道。復有計空為有，以我相憍慢故。何以故？以如來為說空解脫門令得覺知，而彼人計唯空無實。為彼人故，《寶積經》中佛告迦葉：寧見計我如須彌山，而不用見憍慢眾生計空為有。迦葉！一切邪見解空得離。若見空為有，彼不可化令離世間故。偈言：及著我故：及外道故。
有方便求道者，亦有二種。何等為二？一者聲聞，偈言：怖畏世間苦故、聲聞故。二者辟支佛，偈言：捨離諸眾生故及自覺故。不求彼二者，所謂第一利根眾生諸菩薩摩訶薩。何以故？以諸菩薩不求彼有如一闡提故，又亦不同無方便求道種種外道等故，又亦不同有方便求道聲聞辟支佛等故。何以故？以諸菩薩見世間涅槃道平等故。以不住涅槃心故、以世間法不能染故，而修行世間行，堅固慈悲涅槃心故，以善住根本清淨法中故。
What meaning does the latter half of this verse reveal? A verse says:
There are four kinds of obstruction — slandering the Dharma, and clinging to a self;
fearing the suffering of the world; and abandoning beings.
What meaning does this verse make clear? A verse says:
The icchantika, and the outsider; the śrāvaka, and the self-awakened one;
faith and these other three dharmas should be known as the pure causes that counteract these four.
What meaning does this verse make clear? Briefly stated, within the realm of all beings there are three kinds of being. What are the three? First, those who seek existence; second, those who turn away from seeking existence; third, those who seek neither of these two. Those who seek existence are of two kinds. What are the two? First, those who slander the path of liberation, holding that there is no nature of nirvāṇa, constantly seeking to remain in the world and not seeking to realize nirvāṇa. Second, those who, though within the Buddha's own teaching, occupy the same position as an icchantika, because they slander the Mahāyāna. Hence the Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa Sūtra says: "Śāriputra! If there is any monk, nun, layman, or laywoman who gives rise to one of these views, or to both of these views, then the buddhas, the tathāgatas, are not that person's World-Honored One, and such a person is not my disciple. Śāriputra! Because such a person gives rise to these two views, they pass from darkness into darkness, from obscurity into obscurity — I call such people icchantikas."
Those who turn away from seeking existence are likewise of two kinds. What are the two? First, those without any skillful means for seeking the path; second, those with skillful means for seeking the path. Those without any skillful means for seeking the path are likewise of two kinds. What are the two? First, various outsiders holding all manner of false views — the Sāṃkhya, the Vaiśeṣika, the Nirgrantha-Jñātiputra, and the like — who have no skillful means for seeking the path. Second, those who, within the Buddha's own teaching, act just like outsiders, believing in the Buddha's teaching yet grasping it in an inverted way. Who are these? Those such as the Vātsīputrīyas, who hold that there is a self within the body, do not believe in the truth of the first principle, and do not believe in the emptiness of the dharma of suchness — the Buddha says such people are no different from outsiders. There are further those who take emptiness itself as existing, out of the pride of a mark of self. Why is this? Because, though the Tathāgata teaches the gate of liberation that is emptiness so that beings might come to awaken through it, such a person takes emptiness alone as though it had no reality. For the sake of such a person, in the Ratnakūṭa, the Buddha tells Kāśyapa: "One might sooner hold a view of self as vast as Mount Sumeru, than have a proud being take emptiness itself as existing. Kāśyapa! Every wrong view is released through understanding emptiness — but one who takes emptiness as existing cannot be transformed or led to leave the world behind."
Those with skillful means for seeking the path are likewise of two kinds. What are the two? First, the śrāvaka, who fears the suffering of the world. Second, the pratyekabuddha, who abandons beings. Those who seek neither of these two are the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, beings of the very highest capacity. Why is this? Because bodhisattvas do not seek existence the way an icchantika does, nor are they the same as the various outsiders who have no skillful means for seeking the path, nor are they the same as the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas who have skillful means for seeking the path. Why is this? Because bodhisattvas see that the path of the world and the path of nirvāṇa are equal — because their mind does not abide in nirvāṇa, and because worldly dharmas are unable to stain them, they practice worldly conduct, their mind of compassion and nirvāṇa held firm, well established within the fundamental, pure dharma.
The icchantika passage quoted here matches this site's own Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa Sūtra translation of the identical lines almost word for word, confirming exactly the relationship this collection's own translation notes predicted before this project began — that this treatise draws directly on that short sūtra as one of its core proof-texts. The warning against "taking emptiness itself as existing," attributed here to the Buddha addressing Kāśyapa in "the Ratnakūṭa," closely parallels — though does not word-for-word match — a passage this site's own Kāśyapaparivarta translates in its own Part 5, where the Buddha tells Kāśyapa that "one might sooner cling to a view of self piled as high as Mount Sumeru than lean... on a view of emptiness." The two renderings differ enough in wording that they likely represent two different Chinese translations of the same underlying Sanskrit source — four separate Chinese translations of the Kāśyapaparivarta survive, and this treatise may well be citing one this site has not translated — but the shared image (Sumeru, self-view, and the reversal of expected severity between self-clinging and emptiness-clinging) makes the connection unmistakable regardless of which exact recension is behind it.
The threefold classification of beings this passage builds — those who seek existence (further split into those who deny liberation outright and those who occupy an icchantika's position from within the Mahāyāna itself), those who turn away from existence (further split into outsiders without skillful means and śrāvakas/pratyekabuddhas with it), and those who seek neither — locates the bodhisattva's own position with unusual precision: not opposed to worldly existence the way a śrāvaka is, and not clinging to it the way an ordinary being does, but seeing "the path of the world and the path of nirvāṇa" as equal, so that neither seeking nor rejecting either one describes the bodhisattva's actual stance.
Faith as Father, Prajñā as Mother: True Children of Every Buddha
又彼求有眾生一闡提人，及佛法中同闡提位，名為邪定聚眾生。又遠離求有眾生中，墮無方便求道眾生，名為不定聚眾生。又遠離求有眾生中，求離世間方便求道聲聞辟支佛，及不求彼二平等道智菩薩摩訶薩，名為正定聚眾生。又除求於無障礙道大乘眾生，餘有四種眾生。何等為四？一者闡提、二者外道、三者聲聞、四者辟支佛。彼四眾生有四種障故、不能證故、不能會故，不能見如來之性。何等為四？一者謗大乘法一闡提障。此障對治，謂諸菩薩摩訶薩信大乘故。偈言：信法故。二者橫計身中有我諸外道障。此障對治，謂諸菩薩摩訶薩修行般若波羅蜜故。偈言：及般若故。三者怖畏世間諸苦聲聞人障。此障對治，謂諸菩薩摩訶薩修行虛空藏首楞嚴等諸三昧故。偈言：三昧故。四者背捨利益一切眾生捨大悲心辟支佛障。此障對治，謂諸菩薩摩訶薩修行大悲，為利益眾生故。偈言：大悲故。是名四種障，障四種眾生。為對治彼四種障故，諸菩薩摩訶薩信修行大乘等四種對治法，得無上清淨法身，到第一彼岸。何以故？依此四種清淨法界修習善法，此是諸佛隨順法子於佛家生。是故偈言：
大乘信為子， 般若以為母，
禪胎大悲乳， 諸佛如實子。
偈言：信等四種法，清淨因應知故。
Furthermore, among beings who seek existence, the icchantika, and those within the Buddha's own teaching who occupy the same position as an icchantika, are called beings of the wrongly-fixed group. Among beings who turn away from seeking existence, those who fall into seeking the path without any skillful means are called beings of the undetermined group. Among beings who turn away from seeking existence, the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas who have skillful means for seeking to leave the world, and the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who seek neither of these two, possessing the wisdom of the equal path, are called beings of the rightly-fixed group.
Furthermore, apart from the beings of the Mahāyāna, who seek the unobstructed path, there remain four kinds of beings. What are the four? First, the icchantika; second, the outsider; third, the śrāvaka; fourth, the pratyekabuddha. These four kinds of beings, because of four kinds of obstruction, are unable to realize, unable to encounter, and unable to see the Tathāgata's own nature. What are the four? First, the icchantika's obstruction of slandering the Mahāyāna Dharma. The antidote to this obstruction is that bodhisattva-mahāsattvas have faith in the Mahāyāna. Second, the outsiders' obstruction of falsely reckoning a self within the body. The antidote to this obstruction is that bodhisattva-mahāsattvas practice prajñāpāramitā. Third, the śrāvaka's obstruction of fearing the sufferings of the world. The antidote to this obstruction is that bodhisattva-mahāsattvas practice such samādhis as the Ākāśagarbha and the Śūraṅgama. Fourth, the pratyekabuddha's obstruction of turning away from benefiting all beings, abandoning the mind of great compassion. The antidote to this obstruction is that bodhisattva-mahāsattvas practice great compassion, for the sake of benefiting beings. These are the four obstructions, obstructing four kinds of beings. In order to counteract these four obstructions, bodhisattva-mahāsattvas have faith in and practice these four antidotes — faith in the Mahāyāna and the rest — and thereby attain the unsurpassed, pure dharmakāya, reaching the supreme far shore. Why is this? Because, cultivating wholesome dharmas in dependence on these four pure aspects of the dharma-realm, one is born into the Buddha's own family, a true child in accord with every buddha. Hence the verse says:
Faith in the Mahāyāna as the father; prajñā as the mother;
the womb of meditation, and the milk of great compassion —
these make one a true child of every buddha.
This closing verse gives the "true child of the Buddha" theme — already met, in different forms, in this site's Śrīmālādevī Sūtra and Kāśyapaparivarta — its most concrete image yet: faith as father, prajñā as mother, meditative concentration as the womb, and great compassion as the milk that actually nourishes the child once born. Where the Kāśyapaparivarta makes its case for spiritual inheritance through a parable of royal birth, and the Śrīmālā Sūtra through the sūtra's own doctrinal claims, this treatise reaches for the most literal possible family structure — four distinct roles, each named for a specific practice, together producing the same result three different texts have now converged on from three different angles.
Part 8 Continues
This chapter's third point — fruit — takes up next, in Part 9: the four pāramitās of permanence, bliss, self, and purity, quoting the Śrīmālā Sūtra's own reversal of the four ordinary inverted views at length.
Continue to Part 9 — The Four Pāramitās: Permanence, Bliss, Self, and Purity →