The Sustaining of Embryo, Sentient Body, and Material World by Tathāgatagarbha - Part II

For instance, consider our hand. Immediately after it is severed, our Tathagatagarbha continues to sustain it. If it is promptly reattached, it can reconnect and resume its function. When any organ in the body first detaches, the Tathagatagarbha continues to directly sustain it for a period. Within this timeframe, immediate surgical reattachment can restore it as part of the body, allowing it to function as before. If too much time passes, the Tathagatagarbha ceases to directly sustain the detached organ. Attempting to reconnect it to the material body will then fail, rendering it useless. Thus, it is the Tathagatagarbha that functions within all phenomena.

When an organ is removed from our body and transplanted into another person, our Tathagatagarbha sustains it for a period after the transfer. Then, the recipient's Tathagatagarbha takes over and sustains it alone. Subsequently, our Tathagatagarbha relinquishes its role, leaving the recipient's Tathagatagarbha to sustain and function with it exclusively. If an organ is removed from the body for an extended period, the Tathagatagarbha ceases to sustain it. It then becomes useless to our body; reattaching it to our body will fail, and it cannot regain its function. It no longer belongs as part of our body. Similarly, if transplanted into another sentient being's body, it would lack vitality and the corresponding functions.

Another example is when our blood vessel ruptures and bleeds. The freshly shed blood is warm. Why is it warm? Because it is sustained by the Tathagatagarbha. After a prolonged period, the blood ceases to be warm, as the direct sustaining function of the Tathagatagarbha is no longer present. Anything that falls off the body—be it a finger, a limb segment, or skin—is warm immediately after detachment. Why is it warm? Because the Tathagatagarbha sustains it, imparting warmth. After a long time, when the Tathagatagarbha no longer directly sustains it, it becomes cold and hard.

The softness of the body operates similarly. It is soft precisely because the Tathagatagarbha directly sustains it. A dead person's body is rigid. Why? Because the Tathagatagarbha no longer directly sustains it or personally attends to it; hence, the body becomes hard. With the Tathagatagarbha, a sentient being's material body possesses lifespan (āyus), warmth (uṣman), and consciousness (the seven consciousnesses), making the body both warm and soft. Without the Tathagatagarbha, a sentient being's body lacks lifespan, lacks warmth, lacks the seven consciousnesses, and becomes cold and hard.