The Five Great Seed Functions of the Tathāgatagarbha

The intrinsically existing seeds of the tathāgatagarbha are the seven great seeds, of which the five great seeds—earth, water, fire, wind, and space—are the fundamental elements that compose material form (rūpa-dharma), while the seed of the great element of seeing and the seed of the great element of consciousness are the elements that compose the mental dharmas (citta-caitta) of sentient beings' eight consciousnesses. Material form refers to the six sense-objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma, together with sentient beings' five sense faculties, making eleven material dharmas in total. All the material dharmas in the universe's inanimate world, including sentient beings' physical bodies—from the vastness of the cosmos down to a single mote of dust's form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma—are formed by the tathāgatagarbha using the five great seeds.

How does the tathāgatagarbha output the five great seeds to form material dharmas? The five great seeds initially output are formless and markless, neither material nor mental dharmas; once they form the initial, extremely minute particles, they become material dharmas with marks. This initial material form cannot be seen not only by the naked eye but even by the most sophisticated microscope. Then the particles rapidly accumulate and combine, growing larger and larger, becoming extremely tiny particles that precision instruments can detect—electrons, protons, neutrons, nucleons, quarks, and so on—until finally they form tangible, visible masses of matter that the naked eye can see.

This operation of the tathāgatagarbha is truly inconceivable: it can transform formless seeds into tangible material form, as if conjuring something out of thin air. The tathāgatagarbha can indeed be called the greatest magician. When the tathāgatagarbha alters the proportions and quantities of the five great seeds even slightly, the material dharma changes and its physical properties change. Moreover, the five great seeds in a material dharma are constantly output and withdrawn instant by instant. If the material is in a stage of growth, the quantity of seeds output continually increases and the proportions also change; if the material is in a stage of aging and maturation, fewer and fewer seeds are output, and the proportions also change.

The same kind of substance, at different stages and under different environmental conditions, has different compositions, different functions, different colors, smells, and tastes, different radiated forces, different rates of arising, ceasing, and transformation, and different shapes and appearances. From the very beginning as minute particles, matter possesses a certain potential energy and kinetic energy, because the seeds are output and withdrawn back into cessation upon the particles instant by instant, with arising, abiding, alteration, and ceasing never pausing; the particles therefore move at high speed in a regular manner along definite trajectories, thereby generating energy. From the tiniest particles, continuous aggregation forms small particles, which then aggregate into larger particles, then into even larger ones, finally becoming matter with a fixed shape; the energy accumulates ever greater, the forces of action grow ever stronger, and the magnetic forces grow ever stronger.

All kinds of particles move according to certain regularities; moving along fixed orbits, this motion generates potential energy, and with potential energy there is energy. People can utilize this energy to bring benefit to human survival. There are many kinds of matter, and thus many kinds of energy produced. The various disciplines that appear in the secular world—such as physics, chemistry, optics, and other sciences—all study material dharmas, studying the energy of material dharmas as well as the conversion and conservation of energy. Yet none of them has arrived at a final, perfect conclusion, because scientists do not understand the dharma of the tathāgatagarbha and do not know the operating principles of the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, all their high-end research and scientific experiments can never reach ultimate completeness. Only the Buddha can penetrate to the ultimate source of the material world.

If we combine the principles of how material dharmas arise with scientific experiments, we can solve all the inconceivable phenomena of physics, chemistry, optics, mathematics, and so forth that exist in the world and the universe. By studying Yogācāra well and possessing the wisdom of the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only (wei-shi zhong-zhi), we can investigate every worldly discipline with perfect clarity and reach directly to its root—including religion, philosophy, psychology, physiology, biology, and all other disciplines—all of which are functions of the tathāgatagarbha. The dharma of the tathāgatagarbha can reveal all the mysteries of the trichiliocosm (three thousand great thousand worlds), and thus the truth of the universe is made manifest in the human world. Relying on it, we can attain the deepest wisdom; when wisdom reaches its ultimate limit, one becomes an omniscient one and attains buddhahood.

After we cultivate and study the Buddhadharma and achieve seeing the true mind and seeing the nature, we then cultivate further upward. When we possess the seed-wisdom of consciousness-only and the wisdom of Yogācāra has been developed, and after we have realized a portion of the seed functions of the tathāgatagarbha, then in worldly dharmas, as soon as we come into contact with any field or discipline, we can become the absolute authority. Whatever field of study we devote our energy to, we can become top-tier talent, surpassing the world's most elite scientists. In any subject, any dharma gate, any field, we can become a top-tier expert. This is the greatest benefit that we can obtain in worldly dharmas from studying the Buddhadharma, studying Yogācāra, and realizing the consciousness-only nature and suchness nature of all dharmas. The Buddhadharma can make us wise in any field, invincible in worldly dharmas.