How the Tathāgatagarbha Records Karma Actions and Outputs Karma Seeds (Part 9)

After the water pump discharges water, it inevitably carries out vajra sand, along with sand, soil, rotten grass, and similar impurities, discharging them together with the water. Once discharged, this water separates into pure and polluted portions. Similarly, our physical, verbal, and mental actions operate this way: when the Tathāgatagarbha (Storehouse Consciousness) discharges the stored karmic seeds, it inevitably carries both purity and defilement, as the karmic seeds themselves are inherently divided into wholesome, unwholesome, and defiled. The physical, verbal, and mental activities of our six consciousnesses, or the mental activities of the seventh consciousness (manas, the thinking mind), carry this quality of wholesomeness and unwholesomeness, purity and defilement, which then engage in further actions and are stored again. If only unwholesome karma is created, sentient beings will be unable to escape the suffering sea of birth and death.

If our karmic conditions are favorable, possessing some measure of merit and virtue, we will encounter wholesome conditions. Then our body, speech, and mind will accordingly create wholesome karma. Simultaneously, this permeates and transforms the defilement within the manas (seventh consciousness). The karmic seeds will then undergo refinement, the mind-ground will gradually become purified, and in the future, we will receive wholesome retribution. When the six consciousnesses encounter a wholesome condition, a pure external environment—just like a water pump discharging water into a place with vajra sand and jewels, causing the water flow to carry back some vajra sand and jewels while leaving behind some mud and rotten grass, thus transforming the contents within the water—then our six consciousnesses, encountering this pure environment and wholesome state, will create pure and wholesome karmic actions. The consciousness seeds will then carry these pure, wholesome karmic actions back to be stored within the Tathāgatagarbha. In the future, wholesome retribution will be received.

Without wholesome conditions, if the environment encountered by the six consciousnesses is unwholesome and the circumstances are adverse, our six consciousnesses might follow the negative environment and create unwholesome actions driven by greed, hatred, and delusion. This unwholesome karma will be recorded and stored, to be discharged in the future, resulting in unwholesome retribution. It is like the water flow carrying back that mud and filth; the impurities will accumulate more and more within the pump. When discharged again, it will be all filth, all pollution. If the actions of our body, speech, and mind become increasingly defiled, and all karmic seeds stored within the Tathāgatagarbha are discharged as nothing but defilement, yielding only unwholesome retribution without any wholesome results, then within the cycle of birth and death, life will be exceedingly painful.

Having understood the entire process by which the Tathāgatagarbha records, stores, and discharges karmic seeds, we must be extremely careful in the actions of our body, speech, and mind. If our mental activities are afflicted with greed, hatred, and delusion, and are extremely unwholesome, they will be stored as unwholesome karmic seeds. When the conditions ripen, we will receive unwholesome retribution, the polluted result. Hatred has its specific karmic retribution, greed has its specific karmic retribution, and delusion has its specific karmic retribution. Any karmic action created will inevitably bring its corresponding result. The law of karma and retribution is utterly precise and leaves nothing out, because all actions and deeds are entirely stored within the Tathāgatagarbha. It will inevitably discharge them one day; they cannot remain stored within the Tathāgatagarbha forever. When they are discharged, that is the time for receiving unwholesome retribution.

Therefore, when engaging in actions of body, speech, and mind, we must be extremely careful and cautious. Whatever the body does, we must deliberate repeatedly; whatever the mouth speaks, we must deliberate repeatedly; whatever the mind thinks, we must deliberate repeatedly. Do not casually and carelessly create unwholesome physical, verbal, or mental actions, bringing upon ourselves unfavorable, unwholesome karmic retribution—such a loss outweighs any gain. Even when encountering disagreeable, adverse circumstances, we should strive to endure, contemplate carefully, act prudently, avoid being swayed by the negative situation, maintain control over our own mind, and refrain from creating unwholesome actions. Once the manas has been permeated by wholesome conditions to a sufficient degree, then even when encountering any adverse circumstance, we will be able to avoid creating unwholesome karmic actions. That will be beneficial.