The Five Great Seed Functions and Roles of the Tathāgatagarbha

The inherent seeds of the tathāgatagarbha are the seeds of the seven great elements. Among them, the five great seeds—earth, water, fire, wind, and space—are the fundamental elements that constitute 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 constitute the mental dharmas (citta-caitta) of sentient beings' eight consciousnesses. Material form refers to the six sense objects—the realms of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma—which, together with sentient beings' five faculties, amount to eleven material forms in total. All material forms in the universe's inanimate world, including sentient beings' physical bodies—from the vastness of the cosmos down to the form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma of a single speck of dust—are formed by the tathāgatagarbha using the five great seeds.

How does the tathāgatagarbha output the five great seeds to form material form? The five great seeds initially output are formless and markless, neither material nor mental dharmas. Only after they form the initial, extremely minute particles do they become material form with marks. This initial material form cannot be seen not only by the naked eye but also by the most sophisticated microscopes. Then the particles rapidly accumulate and combine, growing larger and larger, becoming electrons, protons, neutrons, nucleons, quarks, and other extremely tiny particles that can be observed by precision instruments, and finally forming tangible, visible masses of matter that can be seen by the naked eye.

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 be called the greatest magician. When the tathāgatagarbha alters the proportions and quantities of the five great seeds even slightly, the material form changes and its physical properties change; moreover, the five great seeds in material form are constantly being output and withdrawn moment by moment. If a material is in its growth stage, the quantity of seeds output will continuously increase and the proportions will also change; if a material is in its aging and maturing stage, fewer and fewer seeds are output, and the proportions also change.

The same material, at different stages and under different environmental conditions, has different compositions, different functions, different colors, smells, and tastes, different emanations, different speeds of arising, ceasing, and mutation, 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 extinguished on the particles moment by moment, with arising, abiding, alteration, and cessation never pausing; the particles therefore move at high speed in a regular manner along certain trajectories, thereby generating energy. From the tiniest particles, continuous aggregation forms small particles, which then aggregate into larger particles, then into even larger particles, and finally into matter with a fixed shape; the energy accumulates ever greater, the forces of action grow ever stronger, and the magnetic field forces grow ever stronger.

All kinds of particles move according to certain regular patterns; moving along fixed orbits, this motion generates potential energy, and where there is potential energy there is energy. People can utilize this energy to benefit human survival. There are many kinds of matter, and thus many kinds of energy are produced. The various disciplines that have emerged in the secular world—such as physics, chemistry, optics, and other sciences—all study material form, studying the energy of material form as well as the conversion and conservation of energy, but none 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, all their high-end research and scientific experiments can never reach ultimate completeness. Only the Buddha can penetrate the ultimate source of the material world.

If we combine the principles of how material form arises with scientific experiments, we can conquer all the inconceivable phenomena existing in the world and the universe—physics, chemistry, optics, mathematics, and so on. If we master Yogācāra and possess the wisdom of the seed-wisdom of the varieties of paths of Yogācāra, we can investigate every discipline in the world with perfect clarity and reach directly to its root—including religion, philosophy, psychology, physiology, biology, and all other disciplines—all of which are functions and operations of the tathāgatagarbha. The dharma of the tathāgatagarbha can reveal all the mysteries of the trichiliocosm, and thus the truth of the universe will be made manifest in the human world. Relying on it, we can attain the deepest wisdom; when wisdom reaches its utmost, one becomes an omniscient one and attains buddhahood. 

After we study the Buddha-dharma and attain seeing the mind and seeing the nature, and then cultivate further upward, when we possess the seed-wisdom of Yogācāra and the wisdom of Yogācāra has been developed, and after we have realized a portion of the seed functions and operations of the tathāgatagarbha, then in worldly dharma, as soon as we come into contact with any field or discipline, we can become the absolute authority. Devoting our energy to any field of study, 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 we can obtain in worldly dharma from studying the Buddha-dharma, studying Yogācāra, and realizing the Yogācāra nature and suchness nature of all dharmas: the Buddha-dharma can make us wise in any field, invincible in worldly dharma.