Language Seeds Can Become Manifest Only When Their Conditions Are Ripe

Question: A child's mind consciousness is new, but the manas is already an "old hand." When a child looks at the ceiling, he should know that it is the ceiling—knowing the "name" but not the "word." The tathāgatagarbha has not input the "word" seeds, so the child cannot say what it is. Is this correct?

Answer: If a child knows that it is the ceiling, he must go through learning—someone must tell him that it is the ceiling before he can know it. But before he has learned to speak, he cannot express it and lacks verbal expression. When the mind consciousness has learned expression, because the language seeds differ, each child's way and method of verbal expression differ, and the results differ: some express themselves clearly and endearingly, while some express themselves unclearly.

Seeds need to encounter conditions before they can manifest; when the conditions are not complete, the seeds temporarily do not take effect. The manifestation of language seeds requires the condition of the mind consciousness learning environmental knowledge; when the mind consciousness does not yet have worldly knowledge, the language seeds do not take effect.