"Intrinsically existing" means what has existed from beginningless kalpas, existing without any cause—that is, the seven intrinsically existing great seeds (earth, water, fire, wind, space, seeing, consciousness) within the tathāgatagarbha. These seeds neither arise nor cease. The intrinsically existing seven great seeds exist naturally without being created by the five aggregates and the seven consciousnesses; there is no rationale to be spoken of, no dharma that generates them, and no dharma that can extinguish them. They are pure and intrinsically so, manifesting pervasively throughout the entire dharmadhātu; they are not perfumed, do not mutate, and remain forever pure.
"Newly perfumed" means the seeds deposited by the karmic actions of the seven consciousnesses after the five aggregates come into birth; they are also called karmic seeds. They are acquired after birth and are subject to constant arising, ceasing, and mutation. Newly perfumed seeds are formed by the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses after birth creating karmic actions; they are dharmas born of causes and conditions, divided into wholesome, unwholesome, and neither-wholesome-nor-unwholesome karmic seeds. After the seven consciousnesses become pure, the karmic actions they create leave behind only pure karmic seeds. When all the seeds of unwholesome karma have been eliminated, the tathāgatagarbha transforms consciousness into wisdom and accomplishes the Buddha Way.
The relationship between intrinsically existing seeds and newly perfumed seeds is this: the intrinsically existing seeds manifest within the three realms, forming the five aggregates, the seven consciousnesses, and all worldly dharmas. The seven consciousnesses, relying on causes and conditions, create karmic actions, and the seeds of those karmic actions then fall and settle into the tathāgatagarbha. Without the intrinsically existing seeds, there would be no newly perfumed seeds acquired after birth. When a doubt arises in the mind, one need only clarify the concepts within the question, and half the answer is already resolved. If the connotations of the concepts are unclear, then even if someone else answers, one is still prone to confusion. If the concepts are unclear and the question itself is ambiguous or problematic, then it is difficult for ordinary people to answer. If persons A, B, C, and D each have their own understanding of "intrinsically existing" and "newly perfumed," and they debate together, when would they ever be able to unify their views and reach a consensus?
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