The Nature of Permanence and the Nature of Severance in the Tathāgatagarbha

The permanence of the tathāgatagarbha of sentient beings means that the tathāgatagarbha itself neither arises nor ceases and does not undergo change. The impermanence of the tathāgatagarbha of sentient beings means that the karmic seeds contained within the tathāgatagarbha must constantly arise, cease, and change, and the seeds of consciousness of the tathāgatagarbha itself must also arise moment by moment, so as to form the continuous functioning of the tathāgatagarbha.

Taken together, the tathāgatagarbha is neither permanent nor impermanent.