194 CHAPTER EIGHTOne Vehicle, the superiority of the Avatmpsaka Sutra, the interpenetration of
phenomena with phenomena-struck him as irrelevant. Thus he ended up
abandoning or downplaying them in his own writings. Nevertheless, later
generations counted him as the fifth patriarch of the school, largely because of
the extensive use he made of the writings of the earlier patriarchs even while
putting them in a new framework. In this sense, Tsung-mi is an object lesson
in how the schools ofT'ang Buddhism cannot be pigeonholed with a few
neat slogans, for they developed in response to the concerns of their individ-
ual members.
Like Fa-tsang, Tsung-mi began with the theory, derived from The Awak-
ening of Faith Siitra, of the One Mind already intrinsically Awakened at the
basis of reality. Unlike Fa-tsang, however, he did not dwell on the interpene-
tration of phenomena, but instead closely followed the evolutionary scheme
discussed in the Sutra in order to show how this One Mind gives rise to de-
luded experience. The process unfolds in 10 stages, analogous to what hap-
pens when a person falls asleep and dreams. In the first two stages, the purity
of the tathagata-garbha splits into two aspects: Awakened and unawakened.
The unawakened aspect, the alaya-vijfial).a, is similar to a person simply falling
asleep. In the next four stages, thought arises, followed by a perceived subject,
perceived objects, and attachment to the basic elements (dharmas) of exis-
tence. This is analogous to the arising of dreams, along with dreaming con-
sciousness, the perception of objects in the dream, and clinging to the things
seen in the dream as real. In the next two stages there arises attachment to self,
followed by such defilements as greed, anger, and delusion. This is similar to
the dreaming person identifying with the person in the dream and feeling like
and dislike for the objects in the dream. In the last two stages, karma is gener-
ated and one experiences the consequences. This is similar to the person in
the dream acting in accordance with likes and dislikes, experiencing pleasure
and pain.
Throughout this process, called natural origination, Tsung-mi follows The
Awakening if Faith in asserting that the mind is still intrinsically Awakened in
spite of the arising of delusion. The basic image is of an ocean: The water of
the ocean is still intrinsically water even though wind makes it form into
waves. Tsung-mi then develops this image to show how Buddhist practice re-
verses the process of delusion and brings the mind full circle back to the at-
tainment of full Awakening. One learns the Dharma from one already
Awakened and so realizes the true nature of the mind as being identical with
the tathagata-garbha. This is called sudden Awakening and is similar to the
stopping of the wind. However, the inertia of the water continues forming
waves. To calm down the waves, one must continue with gradual cultivation
of one's sudden realization to bring it to completion.
Here Tsung-mi introduces a fivefold classification ofBuddhist teachings
designed to reverse the stages in the origination of delusion: (1) The teachings
of human and divine beings, consisting essentially of the doctrine of karma
and morality, overturn the process of generating karma and experiencing the
consequences. (2) The Hinayana teachings then undercut one of the basic as-