Are Seeds Truly Existent?

Only the tathāgatagarbha is truly and really existent. The seven intrinsically existing great seeds are seeds inherent to the tathāgatagarbha itself; they have never undergone arising and ceasing, and they have the genuine function of giving birth to all dharmas, so they too may be said to be really existent. As for karmic seeds, they are formed after birth and are subject to arising, ceasing, and change; therefore they are not really existent. Although the Buddha-nature is also unborn and unceasing, in nirvāṇa without remainder the Buddha-nature no longer functions, so it cannot be said to be completely real. Yet in nirvāṇa without remainder the seven intrinsically existing great seeds are still present, while the Buddha-nature is not. The seven great seeds are like the heart of the tathāgatagarbha, existing together with it; therefore they may be regarded as really existent, while everything else is not real.