How the Tathāgatagarbha Records Karmic Actions and Outputs Karmic Seeds (7)

For example, suppose I am talking with a certain person. During the conversation, whether the mental activity of my manas is pure or defiled will be stored as seeds into the tathāgatagarbha. All the contents cognized by my first six consciousnesses, all the actions undertaken, and all the mental activities—whether accompanied by greed, accompanied by aversion, or belonging to neutral mental activity that is neither wholesome nor unwholesome (avyākṛta)—will all be stored as seeds into the tathāgatagarbha. Because the seeds of consciousness return to the tathāgatagarbha instant by instant, the cognized contents and all the mental activities are likewise stored entirely into the tathāgatagarbha.

After the conversation with this person ends, the entire event, the whole process, is stored completely without omission, and finally a comprehensive record is made. What were the specific mental activities manifested in the entire event of my conversation with this person? This includes the time, the place, the psychological manifestations, the facial expressions, what language was used, and so on. All these numerous process details are stored entirely by the tathāgatagarbha; once stored, they become karmic seeds, and when they ripen, there will be karmic retribution. The deeper the storage—that is, the more attentively the six consciousnesses engage, the more attentively the seventh consciousness engages, the more interested or the more hateful one is—the clearer and more distinct the stored karmic formations become, and the more easily the karmic results ripen.

When the karmic conditions ripen, the tathāgatagarbha delivers these karmic seeds forth. When I meet this person again, because of our past relationship, my manner upon meeting will be different, carrying forth the mental activities of the past. The karmic seed then becomes manifest; once manifest, the expressions of body, speech, and mind will be different. If the original mental state was one of loathing, once this karmic seed is delivered forth, I will feel disgust upon meeting this person; if the original state was one of liking, then upon meeting this person again, when the karmic seed is delivered forth, my mind will carry a feeling of fondness, and I will like this person—the mental activity will be fully manifested. The bodily, verbal, and mental actions when I meet this person are related to the karmic seeds stored in the past, and are related to the mental activity of the manas. The tathāgatagarbha delivers these karmic seeds forth, and the manas plays a certain role in the process.