Are There Secrets in the World?

The Tathāgatagarbha within every individual is exceedingly profound; its functional nature is inconceivable. Sentient beings with insufficient wisdom find it difficult to comprehend the secret workings of the Tathāgatagarbha and its function of upholding all dharmas. Therefore, it is said that the Tathāgatagarbha possesses unknowable upholding. When wisdom becomes deeper and broader, one gradually comes to understand the various upholding functions of the Tathāgatagarbha, and then it can no longer be said that the Tathāgatagarbha's upholding is unknowable. Knowing or not knowing depends on each individual's cultivation and wisdom.

The Tathāgatagarbha constantly manifests, upholds, and sustains all dharmas related to the five aggregates (skandhas) body, including the living environment of the five aggregates body and the realms of the six dusts (objects of sense). Not even the slightest matter concerning the five aggregates body escapes it; it is aware of everything and keeps records, which will result in future karmic retribution. For example, when someone secretly curses or slanders another person without the victim's knowledge, the Tathāgatagarbha of both individuals will record it. When they encounter each other in the future, they will inexplicably feel an inner barrier, and one will inevitably repay the other. Although the conscious mind (five aggregates) of the person who was cursed remains unaware of this event, his Tathāgatagarbha knows it and will archive it.

Why can that person's Tathāgatagarbha know? Because the intrinsic nature of every individual's Tathāgatagarbha is identical; they belong to the same kind. Moreover, it pervades all times, all places, all realms, and all lands. That is to say, the Tathāgatagarbha pervades all times—past, future, and present; pervades the six sense faculties and the six dusts; pervades the six consciousness realms; pervades the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm; and pervades all worlds in the ten directions. Consequently, concerning any matter related to the five aggregates it upholds, the Tathāgatagarbha has a response and knows it. Furthermore, there is a relationship of mutual coordination and cooperation between different Tathāgatagarbhas.

The Tathāgatagarbha records everything one does and collects and archives all matters related to oneself. Therefore, the manas (mind faculty) relies on the discernment of the Tathāgatagarbha to know everything related to oneself and becomes alert, signaling the conscious mind that something special is about to happen. Because the Tathāgatagarbha knows about future events (though not the specific details), it hints at things to alert the five aggregates.

When two people whisper and gossip about others, both of their Tathāgatagarbhas record it, and the Tathāgatagarbha of a third person will also perceive it and simultaneously make a record. Then, the manas of the third person, relying on its own Tathāgatagarbha, will perceive something, become alert, and signal the conscious mind, which then knows something is happening. However, not knowing the specifics, one feels strange inside. Seeing the two people, one might act a bit unnaturally, and those two people, upon seeing this person, will also feel somewhat unnatural. Therefore, there are truly no secret matters in the world.

The Tathāgatagarbha also upholds the retributive environment (依报) for the survival of the five aggregates and the realms of the six dusts. If the realm of the six dusts belongs to one's own five aggregates, the Tathāgatagarbha upholds it directly. If the retributive environment has no karmic connection with the five aggregates body, the Tathāgatagarbha cannot uphold it personally; instead, it must be jointly upheld by the Tathāgatagarbhas of sentient beings sharing that collective karma. For example, if a person nurtures a potted plant very well and then gives it to another person, the plant might not thrive in the new home, possibly gradually wilting or even dying. This is related to the retributive environment of sentient beings. Some fruit trees in an orchard, or livestock, thrive under one person's care but deteriorate, change, or die when cared for by another person. These are all matters of karmic connection. Livestock thrive under the care of a karmically connected owner but fare poorly or even die with an unconnected or weakly connected owner. Organ transplantation follows the same principle. An organ previously upheld by another's Tathāgatagarbha, once transplanted into one's body, will gradually become solely upheld by one's own Tathāgatagarbha. If the karmic connection between the two individuals is poor, and their manas reject each other, the two Tathāgatagarbhas will not cooperate or transfer well, and the transplantation will not succeed.