Karmic Seeds, Karmic Conditions, and the Digestion and Absorption of Food

Question: If everyone consumes the same food, does the Tathagatagarbha selectively absorb nutrients based on each individual's different karmic causes?

Answer: Each person's physical condition is related to karmic seeds from past lives. The body is the direct retribution (正报), while the material environment and living conditions constitute the dependent retribution (依报). Whether a person is healthy or not, their height, and body size are all determined by past karma. For example, if a person's karmic retribution results in obesity, they will remain overweight even with minimal food intake. Conversely, a thin person will stay thin despite consuming ample nutrients. When food enters the stomach, the Tathagatagarbha selectively digests and absorbs it according to the individual's karmic seeds and conditions. The functionality of the digestive system is also manifested by the Tathagatagarbha based on the being's karmic seeds.

Different individuals consuming the same food will digest and absorb it differently due to varying karmic conditions, leading to different physical states. Those with insufficient cultivation strength will be influenced and constrained by these karmic conditions. However, practitioners with strong cultivation can alter the structural composition of matter, thereby avoiding or minimizing its effects. For instance, those skilled in seated meditation and concentration can replenish essential nutrients within the body, enabling it to obtain energy—sometimes even more potent and nourishing than that derived from food. This results in robust health and reduces the need for excessive food intake.

Another example is Bodhidharma, whose meditative concentration was exceptionally profound. Despite repeated attempts by others to poison his food, he remained unaffected and unharmed. His Tathagatagarbha either refrained from absorbing the toxic substances or, upon absorption, transformed the four elements (earth, water, fire, wind) within the poison, neutralizing its harmful effects. Due to Bodhidharma's accomplished cultivation, his Tathagatagarbha could alter the four-element structure of the poison, preventing its absorption by the body and shielding him from harm. While the meritorious power of the Tathagatagarbha is fundamentally the same for all, individuals have different karmic conditions. Thus, while consuming the same poison, the Tathagatagarbha assimilates different combinations of the four elements, resulting in distinct physical manifestations.