The first five consciousnesses cannot discern the mental sense-object of the Image-Only Object

Question: Memory is a dharma-object seed stored by the tathāgatagarbha. The object-aspects of the five sense-objects cannot be stored, because the object-images recalled can only correspond to the mind consciousness—surely the five sense consciousnesses cannot discern the recalled object-images, right?

Answer: All dharmas can be stored as seeds. All actions and karmic formations of body, speech, and mind—everything experienced, all people, events, objects, and principles, that is, the entire realm of the six sense-objects—are all stored as seeds by the tathāgatagarbha. Afterwards, when the manas grasps at them and deliberates, seeking to discern them, the tathāgatagarbha complies with the manas's mental factor of volition (cetanā) and transmits the seeds outward, where they become the mental sense-object—this is the Image-Only Object. After the manas has engaged with them, if further detailed discernment is desired, the tathāgatagarbha gives rise to the solitary mental consciousness to discern them one by one. This is what is called recollection, which is why recollection contains details.

The realms brought forth in recollection belong to the mental sense-object, which the five sense consciousnesses cannot discern; therefore the five sense consciousnesses have no function of recollection. The object-aspects of the five sense-objects are also stored as seeds in the tathāgatagarbha. When the causes and conditions are complete, the tathāgatagarbha will also output the five sense-objects, and in accordance with the manas's mental factor of volition, the tathāgatagarbha gives rise to the six consciousnesses to discern them. However, this no longer counts as recollection.