The Śūraṅgama Sūtra states,
“All sentient beings, from beginningless time, have been subject continuously to birth and death because they do not realize the pure and luminous nature of the Ever-present True Mind, instead engaging in various delusive thoughts. These thoughts are untrue, hence the wheel of Samsara turns.”
A lay practitioner once told me that when he read this passage, he found the term “Ever-present True Mind” particularly puzzling. He understood that ordinary beings are trapped in the ocean of samsaric suffering because they are deluded about this true mind. But if everything is impermanent, why is this mind described as “ever-present”? What exactly is the Ever-present True Mind?
I told him that the entire Śūraṅgama Sūtra is intended to explain the principle of this Ever-present True Mind. The essence of the sutra is captured in this single, concise statement, and to ponder its meaning is itself an indication of great spiritual blessings.
So, what is the Ever-present True Mind? The Buddha says, “All dharmas that arise are manifestations of the mind alone.” This means that all phenomena manifest depending upon the true mind; all phenomena are without self-nature, instead arising with the true mind as their essence (Note 1).
This Ever-present True Mind refers to the fundamental nature that pervades past, present, and future. It is constantly present, never subject to arising, ceasing, or change.
It is the true reality underlying the universe and all phenomena. While the myriad manifestations appear different, their essence is one. Across the sūtras, this principle has many synonymous expressions: the Diamond Sutra calls it “Ultimate Reality”; the Nirvāṇa Sūtra names it “Buddha-nature”; the Avataṃsaka Sūtra refers to it as the “Dharma Realm”; the Śrīmālādevī Sūtra calls it “Tathāgatagarbha”; the Awakening of Faith presents it as “True Suchness”; and the Heart Sutra uses the expression “the emptiness-aspect of all dharmas.” Though the terms differ, all sutras and treatises point to the same idea—the fundamental essence of all existence. Recognizing this fundamental essence is the key to studying and practicing the Dharma.
The Ever-present True Mind cannot be grasped by conceptual thought and is difficult to express in words. Yet without explanation, it cannot be understood. I am sure all Buddhists are familiar with this passage in the Heart Sūtra:
“The emptiness-aspect of all dharmas is neither arising nor ceasing, neither defiled nor pure, neither increasing nor decreasing.”
We may begin to explore the meaning of the Ever-present True Mind by reflecting on this passage.
Neither Arising nor Ceasing
What does “neither arising nor ceasing” mean? Consider electricity and light: when you turn on a light in a dark room, the bulb glows and light appears. In reality, electricity is always present; it does not arise only when the light appears. Thus, electricity is “not arising.” When you switch off the light, the bulb darkens and the light disappears. Yet the electricity does not vanish simply because the light ceases; therefore, electricity is “not ceasing.”
The Ever-present True Mind is like the electricity behind the light. From the very beginning, its essence remains constant and unchanging—neither arising nor ceasing. What arises and ceases is only the appearance of the light: phenomena that change with conditions, illusory and unreal.
In the same way, ordinary beings mistake transient phenomena—such as the five desires of wealth, sensual pleasure, fame, food, and sleep—for real substance, unaware of their inherent impermanence, suffering, and emptiness. They cling to them as genuine happiness, striving and chasing after them, giving rise to greed, anger, and delusion, and committing unwholesome acts such as killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. Consequently, they reap the corresponding karmic results and drift within the vast ocean of samsaric suffering.
Bound by the force of karma, ordinary beings revolve within the Six Paths of Saṃsāra (see Note 2), undergoing endless cycles of birth and death. In one life, one may be John; in another, Jane; or one may be reborn as an animal or in another path. This is like replacing one broken light bulb with another—only the forms change, while the underlying electricity remains the same. Likewise, the nature of the Ever-present True Mind, like space or electricity, has from beginningless time remained unchanging, unborn, and undying.
Neither Defiled nor Pure
What does “neither defiled nor pure” mean? Consider the example of sunlight.
When sunlight shines on a polluted river, the light does not become polluted—thus, it is not subject to defilement. When sunlight illuminates a clear lake, the light does not become purer because the water is clean—thus, it is not subject to purity. The water may be defiled or pure, but the sunlight itself is always the same, inherently free from defilement and purity. This is what is meant by “neither defiled nor pure.”
“Defilement” is another name for mental affliction. Ordinary beings mistake the false mind for the true mind and cling to the six sensory objects (see Note 3) as if they were real. As a result, they give rise to countless afflictions—anger, harm, hatred, deceit, arrogance, doubt, fear, sorrow, resentment, jealousy, greed, hypocrisy, shamelessness, conceit, quarrels, pride, heedlessness, and contempt. Driven by these defilements, they create karma and revolve endlessly within the Three Realms and the Six Paths of Saṃsāra.
Neither Increasing nor Decreasing
What does “neither increasing nor decreasing” mean? Consider the example of digging into the ground.
If you dig a hole one foot deep, it may seem as if there is now one more foot of space, but the totality of space itself has not increased. When you fill that hole again, space has not decreased. The hole may appear or disappear, but space remains the same—it neither increases nor decreases.
Likewise, the Ever-present True Mind is like space—unchanging, neither increasing nor decreasing. When sentient beings are deluded and fail to perceive it, it does not diminish; when Buddhas realize it fully, it does not increase.
As the Awakening of Faith says:
“The essence of True Suchness neither increases nor decreases among ordinary beings, Śrāvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas, or Buddhas. It neither arises in the past nor ceases in the future. It is eternally constant, and its nature has always been complete with all virtues.”
Because people are ignorant of the equality inherent in the Ever-present True Mind, they become entangled in calculations of self and others, contending over the smallest gains and losses, scheming and deceiving one another, and thus plunging the world into conflict and strife.
Setting the Right Intention
The lay practitioner then asked,
“Venerable, I now somewhat understand the meaning of the Ever-present True Mind. But these seem like deep philosophical ideas—how do they relate to my practice? How do they actually help me?”
I told him that whatever we do, we must begin with the right motivation. From the standpoint of cause and effect, only when the cause is pure will the resulting fruit be free from distortion.
Many people today take up Buddhist practice seeking the protection of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to attain wealth, longevity, avoid misfortune, or fulfill worldly wishes. These aims belong to conditioned dharmas—they arise and cease, are defiled and pure, increase and decrease. They are not the true cause for liberation. Thus, the Śūraṅgama Sūtra says,
“If one cultivates their cause with a mind subject to arising and ceasing while seeking the Buddha’s unarising and unceasing fruition, such a thing cannot be done.”
A genuine practitioner of the Buddha’s path must take the unarising and unceasing Ever-present True Mind as the causal ground of practice, thereby aligning with the fruition of enlightenment.
In other words, one must recognize this Ever-present True Mind, distinguish its arising-and-ceasing phenomenal aspect from its unarising, unceasing nature, carefully observe the roots of one’s afflictions, and gradually subdue and eliminate them until ignorance is permanently ended.
Volume Four of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra offers a vivid analogy (paraphrased):
“To purify muddy water, one must first pour it into a still container. When it remains unmoved for a long time, the sediment naturally sinks, and clear water appears—this is called the initial subduing of coarse afflictions. Only when all sediment has been removed and pure water remains is ignorance completely extinguished. Thereafter, the water remains clear no matter how it is stirred. The Ever-present True Mind is just like this. When the Buddha attained supreme enlightenment, though he re-entered the ocean of birth and death and manifested countless bodies and worlds, none of these ever turned into affliction—they only revealed the serene and pure virtue of Nirvana.”
The lay practitioner then asked:
“If someone practices Buddhism to seek worldly blessings or the compassionate aid of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in times of suffering, is that wrong?”
That is not necessarily a wrong motivation—it is simply that “when the cause is not true, the result will be indirect.” An impure motive leads one along many detours. Still, we must remember that sentient beings differ in capacity and wisdom, and each has unique karmic conditions for learning the Dharma. As it is said, “There are many gateways of skillful means, but only one path returning to the source.”
In the ten pāramitās of the Mahāyāna, there is the Pāramitā of Skillful Means, meaning that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, out of compassion, employ countless expedient methods to guide beings toward the path. They may fulfill worldly wishes so that, out of gratitude, one diligently practices the Dharma; or they may reveal frightening visions to restrain wrongdoing and inspire wholesome conduct.
Yet we must ultimately understand this: the practice of Buddhism is the cultivation of the mind itself—not merely the seeking of worldly fortune. For all worldly things belong to conditioned dharmas: they arise and cease, are defiled and pure, increase and decrease. They stand opposed to the Ever-present True Mind.
As the Diamond Sutra teaches:
“All conditioned dharmas are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow, like dew or lightning. Thus should you perceive them.”
The central message of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra is precisely this: to take the Ever-present True Mind as the fundamental ground of cultivation and not mistake the false for the true. When delusive thoughts arise, do not follow them. In daily life—whether walking, standing, sitting, lying down, speaking, remaining silent, in motion, or at rest—one’s mind should always be aligned with the Ever-present True Mind.
As Master Puzhao wrote in The Essential Instructions on Mind-Cultivation:
“Those who cultivate the Way must never seek outwardly. The nature of mind is originally undefiled and perfectly complete. Simply sever attachment to delusive conditions, and you will be as the Tathagata.”
Note 1: Essence (Sanskrit: svabhāva) refers to the fundamental reality of all dharmas—that is, the basic condition of their existence. The unchanging quality of this essence is called nature (性); thus, essence and nature are one and the same. Regarding the study of this essence-nature, the Yogācāra and Mādhyamika schools hold slightly different views. According to Yogācāra doctrine, although phenomena are illusory and empty, their underlying substance is truly existent. The Mādhyamika school, however, regards the utterly ungraspable emptiness as the ultimate truth. Regardless of which school’s interpretation one follows, the essence-nature of all things in the universe transcends the conceptual thought and speech of ordinary beings. Only through profound prajñā can it be illuminated, and only through non-discriminating wisdom can it be directly realized.
Note 2: Saṃsāra refers to the ceaseless cycle of birth and death experienced by sentient beings as they are driven by delusion and karma—specifically, by greed, anger, and ignorance—which generate rebirth within the Six Paths: the heavenly path, the asura path, the human path, the animal path, the hungry ghost path, and the hell path.
Note 3: The six sensory objects are form, sound, scent, taste, touch, and dharmas. Sentient beings, through the six consciousnesses—visual consciousness, auditory consciousness, olfactory consciousness, gustatory consciousness, tactile consciousness, and mental consciousness—become attached to these six sensory objects, thereby defiling the six sense faculties (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) and obscuring the true mind. These six sensory objects are likened to thieves, capable of robbing beings of all wholesome qualities.
