Seven Great Elements' Seeds Pervading the Dharma Realm

The seeds of the seven great elements: the seeds of the seven great elements are earth, water, fire, wind, space, seeing, and consciousness. The first five great-element seeds—earth, water, fire, wind, and space—are used to constitute material form (rūpa-dharma), while the seeds of the great element of seeing and the great element of consciousness are used to constitute mental dharmas (citta-dharma). The seed of the great element of consciousness constitutes the mental dharmas of the seven consciousnesses, and the seed of the great element of seeing forms the function of the tathāgatagarbha in seeing all dharmas—that is, buddha-nature. In this way, all dharmas of the entire five-aggregate world are complete. Material dharmas and mental dharmas encompass all dharmas. The tathāgatagarbha uses the seed of the great element of seeing to enable the seven consciousnesses to function, discerning sense objects and manifesting all dharmas, thereby forming the complete and systematic functional operations of worldly dharmas.

The seeds of the seven great elements pervade the entire Dharma realm, pervading all times, all stages (bhūmis), all aggregates, all places, all realms, and all dharmas. The five great-element seeds form material dharmas. Apart from the formless realm, the desire realm and the form realm of the buddha-lands of the ten directions all have material dharmas; there is never a time without material dharmas. And in the formless realm, there are the functions of the sixth, seventh, and eighth consciousnesses formed by the seeds of the great element of consciousness and the great element of seeing.

Therefore, the seeds of the seven great elements pervading all dharmas certainly includes the pervasion of the seed of the great element of consciousness and the seed of the great element of seeing. First, regarding the seed of the great element of seeing: this seed forms the seeing-nature of the tathāgatagarbha. When the seeing-nature of the tathāgatagarbha functions and sees a dharma, only then can that dharma be manifested and operated upon. Wherever there are dharmas, there must be the tathāgatagarbha and the seeing-nature of the tathāgatagarbha, and there must necessarily be the participation and output of the seed of the great element of seeing. Therefore, the seed of the great element of seeing pervades all places, all stages, all realms, and all dharmas.

Next, regarding the seed of the great element of consciousness: the seed of the great element of consciousness forms the deluded minds of the seven consciousnesses. Wherever there are the five aggregates, there are the seven consciousnesses and the seed of the great element of consciousness; in other words, wherever there are sentient beings, there are the seven consciousnesses and the seed of the great element of consciousness; wherever there is the manas, there are the seven consciousnesses and the seed of the great element of consciousness. Even when sentient beings have not yet been born and only the inanimate world (bhājana-loka) exists, there are still the manas-realm formed by the seed of the great element of consciousness and the seeing-nature of the tathāgatagarbha formed by the seed of the great element of seeing. Therefore, the seed of the great element of consciousness pervades all places (the bases of faculties and objects), all realms, all stages, and all dharmas. In summary, the seeds of the seven great elements pervade the entire Dharma realm, including the buddha-worlds, the bodhisattva Dharma realm, the pratyekabuddha Dharma realm, the arhat Dharma realm, and the Dharma realms of ordinary sentient beings of the six paths.