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On Original Enlightenment and the Tathagatagarbha
Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana
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The Mind in terms of the Absolute is the one World of Reality and the essence of all phases of existence in their totality. That which is called the essential nature of the Mind is unborn and imperishable. All things are only different aspects of this one Mind. The mind from the beginning is of a pure nature, but since there is the finite aspect of it which is sullied by finite views, there is the sullied aspect of it. Yet the original pure nature of the mind is eternally unchanged. This is the meaning of tathagatagarbha—the womb of the Thus-Come-One, the original enlightenment present in all beings.
Attribution
By Ashvaghosha
Sources
Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana: On Original Enlightenment and the Tathagatagarbha