Which Comes First: Citta or Dharma? Which Ceases First: Citta or Dharma? (Part II)

Then, they contemplate what causes existence to have grasping (upādāna), and thus deduce that because there is craving (tṛṣṇā), there is grasping; it is because of craving for objects that grasping exists. Then, they contemplate what causes craving to exist, and thus deduce that because there is sensation (vedanā), there is craving; it is because there are sensations of pleasure, pain, and neither-pleasure-nor-pain that craving arises. Then, they contemplate what causes sensation to exist, and thus deduce that because there is contact (sparśa), there is sensation; it is because the six sense faculties (ṣaḍāyatana) contact the six sense objects that sensation exists. Then, they contemplate what causes contact to exist, and thus deduce that because the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana) exist, contact exists. Then, they contemplate what causes the six sense bases to exist, and thus deduce that because name-and-form (nāmarūpa) exists, the six sense bases exist. Then, they contemplate what causes name-and-form to exist, contemplating how the fertilized egg of name-and-form is born and grows.

They contemplate and deduce that because ignorance (avidyā) persists, the mental faculty (manas) clings to and grasps the self, leading to entry into the intermediate state (antarābhava) and taking rebirth in the womb, thus becoming established within the fertilized egg. However, is it only the mental faculty that can enter and dwell in the womb? Certainly not, because the embryo is also formed from the four great elements (mahābhūta)—earth, water, fire, and wind. Does the mental faculty contain the seeds (bīja) of the four great elements? No, it is the Tathāgatagarbha that possesses the seeds of the four great elements and can form the material embryo. Without the Tathāgatagarbha, the ālayavijñāna, the mental faculty cannot enter the womb, cannot dwell in the womb, and cannot transform to produce the embryo. It is the Tathāgatagarbha that manifests the seeds of the four great elements to develop the embryo. The mental faculty lacks this function and capability. It is the Tathāgatagarbha that manifests the seeds forming the embryo's head, limbs, and other parts of the body faculty (kāyendriya). It is the Tathāgatagarbha that possesses the seeds of the six consciousnesses (ṣaḍvijñāna), giving birth to the six consciousnesses, enabling the fetus to have discriminative awareness.

Having deduced this far, they understand that name-and-form is born from the Tathāgatagarbha. This is the true meaning of "name-and-form conditions consciousness (vijñāna)" and "consciousness conditions name-and-form." This is also the implication of the tenfold dependent origination (daśāṅga-pratītyasamutpāda) and the result of tracing back the twelvefold dependent origination (dvādaśāṅga-pratītyasamutpāda). So how is the Tathāgatagarbha itself born? The Tathāgatagarbha has no birth; it is thus by nature (dharmatā), inherently existent from the beginning, with nothing that can give birth to it. Therefore, when Pratyekabuddhas trace back and forth, they reach the Tathāgatagarbha and can trace no further; they have reached the end. They realize that it is the Tathāgatagarbha that produces the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) of name-and-form. This is the dependent origination of "consciousness conditions name-and-form" and "name-and-form conditions consciousness."

The material world, the universe (bhājanaloka), is also composed of the seeds of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind. These seeds all reside within the Tathāgatagarbha. When the karmic conditions of all sentient beings mature, the Tathāgatagarbha of all sentient beings manifests the seeds of the four great elements, collectively transforming to manifest the universe, enabling sentient beings to be born. Then, after sentient beings are born, how are the material five sense objects (pañcaviṣaya) needed in life produced? This involves the Hundred Dharma Treatise (Śatadharmaprakāśamukha śāstra). The Hundred Dharma Treatise states that material forms (rūpa) are produced through the combined functioning of the eight consciousnesses (aṣṭavijñāna) as the sovereigns (citta) and their associated mental factors (caitta). The eight consciousnesses sovereigns include eight minds (citta). The mental factors include the five omnipresent factors (sarvatraga), the five object-determined factors (viniyata), the eleven wholesome factors (kuśala), the six root afflictions (mūlakleśa), the twenty secondary afflictions (upakleśa), and the four indeterminate factors (aniyata). Material forms include the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body faculties; forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and tangible objects; and form included in the mental realm (dharmāyatana-pariṇāma-rūpa)—eleven in total.