What Is the Compliance with Enlightenment Nature in the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment?

The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment states: "Good men! All bodhisattvas and sentient beings of the degenerate age should, at all times, not give rise to false thoughts, nor extinguish their deluded minds, abide in the realm of delusions without attempting to understand them, and without distinguishing truth from falsehood regarding their lack of understanding. When sentient beings hear this Dharma door, they will believe, comprehend, accept, uphold, and give rise to no fear or astonishment. This is called accordance with the enlightened nature. Good men! You should know that such sentient beings have already made offerings to hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River and great bodhisattvas, and have planted roots of virtue. The Buddha declares that such a person is called one who accomplishes omniscient wisdom."

Explanation: This refers to the self-abiding state of Tathagatagarbha, describing its essential nature, not a state that the consciousness of the seventh sense should abide in. The essential nature of Tathagatagarbha is that, regardless of the time, it never gives rise to false thoughts, nor does it ever extinguish the deluded minds of the seven consciousnesses. In all realms of delusion, Tathagatagarbha manifests, yet it never knows these deluded realms. Tathagatagarbha also does not know that it lacks understanding of the various deluded realms, nor does it ever discern the truth regarding its own lack of understanding, unaware that it possesses such a nature. Only bodhisattvas with the wisdom of the path can comprehend these profound and subtle characteristics of Tathagatagarbha, hence it is the accordance with enlightened nature of ground-level bodhisattvas.

Recognizing this state of Tathagatagarbha is the practice, and truly attaining this state is Buddhahood. That is a realm of principle—the state of Tathagatagarbha. The discerning minds of great bodhisattvas cannot achieve this, let alone ordinary beings. As stated above, hearing this Dharma door—this is a Dharma door, the Tathagatagarbha Dharma door. To be able to believe, comprehend, accept, and practice this Tathagatagarbha Dharma door is the accordance with enlightened nature of bodhisattvas who have entered the grounds. Only ground-level bodhisattvas can truly understand and accord with it. When this accordance with enlightened nature reaches perfection, it becomes the perfect enlightened nature of all Buddhas. At this point, such sentient beings have already made offerings to hundreds of thousands of billions of Buddhas and great bodhisattvas, enabling them to realize omniscient wisdom and perfectly accomplish the Buddha Way.