The Sutra of the Father and Son Compendium: Lecture 28

The Water Element neither comes from anywhere nor goes anywhere

When sentient beings first enter the womb, there is no water within the fertilized egg. As the Tathagatagarbha gradually enlarges the fertilized egg, water becomes present within it. Where does that water come from? When sentient beings die, the water element within the body vanishes. Where does the water go? The water element neither comes from anywhere nor goes anywhere — this is the explanation according to the Hinayana. From the Mahayana perspective, where does the water element come from? It comes from the Tathagatagarbha. Mahayana teaches that all phenomena arise from the Tathagatagarbha, while Hinayana teaches that all phenomena are empty, neither coming from anywhere nor going anywhere. These are the two explanations of Mahayana and Hinayana.