The View of Tathāgatagarbha Differs from That of the Sixth and Seventh Consciousnesses

When the six consciousnesses are absent, does the Tathāgatagarbha still perceive dharmas? When the six consciousnesses are absent, other dharmas do not cease to exist. As long as dharmas exist, the Tathāgatagarbha perceives them because the Tathāgatagarbha has never been separate from all dharmas. Where there are dharmas, there is the grasping and sustaining function of the Tathāgatagarbha. Is the seventh consciousness, the mental faculty (manas), the seeing aspect of the Tathāgatagarbha? The mental faculty is not the seeing aspect of the Tathāgatagarbha. When the mental faculty is absent, the Tathāgatagarbha can still perceive karmic seeds. The Tathāgatagarbha perceives more dharmas than the mental faculty perceives. Dharmas not perceived by the mental faculty are still perceived solely by the Tathāgatagarbha. In the state of nirvāṇa without residue, the Tathāgatagarbha can still perceive dharmas and perceive seeds; the five universal mental factors (contact, attention, feeling, perception, and volition) operate as usual. The mental faculty and the Tathāgatagarbha have different "eyes," hence the appearances they perceive differ—one perceives conventional phenomenal appearances, while the other perceives non-conventional dharmic appearances.

The six consciousnesses are not the seeing aspect of the Tathāgatagarbha; the Tathāgatagarbha does not perceive all dharmas through the six consciousnesses. The Tathāgatagarbha possesses its own intrinsic seeing aspect, which is the functioning of the five universal mental factors: attention, contact, feeling, perception, and volition. After the Tathāgatagarbha gives rise to attention toward a dharma, it contacts the dharma. Following contact, it receives and accepts it, then proceeds to discern and differentiate it. After discernment, it cognizes the dharma. This is the seeing aspect of the Tathāgatagarbha—the manner in which the Tathāgatagarbha perceives dharmas.

However, the content and essence of the dharmas perceived by the Tathāgatagarbha are entirely different from those perceived by the six consciousnesses. The dharmas perceived by the six consciousnesses all fall into the appearances of the six sense objects (forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, and mental objects), grasping the appearances of color, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas—this is conventional reality. In contrast, the dharmas perceived by the Tathāgatagarbha do not fall into the appearances of conventional dharmas; they are not forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, or mental objects. The conscious mind cannot comprehend what the Tathāgatagarbha perceives; therefore, the seeing aspect of the Tathāgatagarbha is not the five sense consciousnesses or the sixth consciousness. Nevertheless, after the six consciousnesses perceive dharmas, they exert a certain influence on the operation of the Tathāgatagarbha. This influence manifests as the perceiving capacity of the six consciousnesses affecting the mental faculty. When the mental faculty is affected, it gives rise to corresponding choices, and the Tathāgatagarbha must then operate the next dharma in accordance with the choices of the mental faculty, thereby giving rise to new dharmas.