Apart from Tathāgatagarbha, There Is No Dharma of Causes and Conditions.

The twelve links of dependent origination taught by the Buddha—in their essence, each link exists depending on the tathāgatagarbha; apart from the tathāgatagarbha, there is no dharma of dependent origination. What worldly people speak of as dependent arising only knows the surface phenomena, as if it were "when this exists, that exists," this dharma producing that dharma. In reality, conditioned upon this dharma, the tathāgatagarbha produces that dharma, and this dharma itself is also a dharma within the tathāgatagarbha. Any dharma, once separated from the tathāgatagarbha, cannot exist. The arising of any dharma is also the tathāgatagarbha producing it; it is only that many conditions are needed before the tathāgatagarbha can produce that dharma. If, apart from the tathāgatagarbha, one speaks of the dharma of dependent origination—that this dharma can produce that dharma—it simply does not hold.

For example, ignorance conditions volitional formations (avidyā-pratyayāḥ saṃskārāḥ): ignorance cannot produce the mental formations of the manas; it is the tathāgatagarbha that produces the manas's mental formations. Because the manas has ignorance, does not know the ultimate reality of the dharmadhātu, and is unwilling to abide in tranquil suchness, it gives rise to the mind seeking outward greed; the tathāgatagarbha, in accordance with the manas's ignorance, produces the manas's mental formations, and within the manas agitation arises, wanting to grasp the dharmas of the three realms and the body and mind of the five aggregates, wanting bodily, verbal, and mental actions.

Volitional formations condition consciousness: because of the manas's restless, agitated mental formations seeking outward, the tathāgatagarbha satisfies the manas's deliberation (manasikāra) and produces the six consciousnesses, letting the manas use the six consciousnesses to accomplish its own wishes, creating all bodily, verbal, and mental actions.

Consciousness conditions name-and-form: because the manas's mental formations continue unceasingly, and the six consciousnesses' bodily, verbal, and mental actions continue unceasingly, the tathāgatagarbha automatically stores the karmic seeds, thus planting the seeds for rebirth in future lives. At the time of death, the manas's mental formations do not cease, seeking a body of the five aggregates, so the tathāgatagarbha will produce the neutrino-body (antarā-bhava). Within the neutrino-body, the manas is not satisfied with the temporary physical body and wants the five-aggregate body of the next life. When the conditions of father and mother are complete, the tathāgatagarbha follows the manas into the womb, and name-and-form is produced.

Name-and-form conditions the six sense bases (ṣaḍāyatana): after the fertilized egg of name-and-form is formed, the tathāgatagarbha, in accordance with the manas's perception of the five-aggregate body, continuously transforms and fashions the physical body according to the karmic seeds and karmic conditions, growing the eye faculty, ear faculty, nose faculty, and tongue faculty on the physical body, while the body faculty also continuously grows and matures. Thus the five faculties are created by the tathāgatagarbha, and together with the manas, the six sense bases are complete.

The six sense bases condition contact: once the conditions of the six sense bases are complete, because the manas wants to see the six sense objects, the tathāgatagarbha transmits the outer six sense objects through the five faculties into the five supreme faculties (indriya), and the six faculties come into contact with the six sense objects. This contact is also produced by the tathāgatagarbha.

Contact conditions feeling: when the six faculties can contact the six sense objects, the manas wants to discern the six sense objects, and the tathāgatagarbha will produce the ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, and mind consciousness to jointly discern the realms of the six sense objects (in the mother's womb, the eye consciousness cannot yet be produced to see forms). Thus the six consciousnesses have experiences of the six sense objects—all three feelings of suffering, pleasure, and neither-suffering-nor-pleasure are present—and the manas also has its own feelings within them. These feelings are also produced by the tathāgatagarbha.

Feeling conditions craving: because there are the three feelings of the six consciousnesses, the manas has its own feelings based on the feelings of the six consciousnesses; when it itself contacts sense objects it also has feelings—either the pleasurable feeling of craving and attachment, or the suffering feeling of aversion and rejection, or neutral feeling (upekṣā-vedanā). Because of these feelings, craving arises—especially the craving of the manas—and relying on it, the tathāgatagarbha can produce all subsequent bodily, verbal, and mental actions, producing more dharmas. The feelings of the six consciousnesses and the feelings of the manas are all produced by the tathāgatagarbha outputting consciousness seeds; the craving of the six consciousnesses is also produced by the tathāgatagarbha outputting consciousness seeds; and especially the craving of the manas is produced by the tathāgatagarbha conditioned upon the manas's feelings.

Craving conditions grasping (upādāna): because the manas has craving, grasping nature arises, wanting to possess and grasp the myriad dharmas of the three realms and six sense objects. This grasping nature is also produced by the tathāgatagarbha outputting consciousness seeds. Apart from the tathāgatagarbha there would be no manas, let alone the manas's feelings, craving, and grasping nature.

Grasping conditions existence: due to the manas's grasping of the myriad dharmas of the three realms, the tathāgatagarbha, in accordance with the manas's mental formations, continuously produces all dharmas of the three-realm world. Existence conditions birth: after the dharmas of the three-realm world are produced, the living environment for the five-aggregate body is complete, and thus the tathāgatagarbha will produce the five-aggregate body.

Birth conditions aging, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress (śoka-parideva-duḥkha-daurmanasyopāyāsa): because the five-aggregate body is of a nature of arising, ceasing, and illusory transformation, after birth the tathāgatagarbha sustains it, continuously outputting the seeds of the four great elements, letting the physical body continuously grow, gradually age, and finally die. Within this process, there are boundless sufferings of birth and death, and sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress are endless. These sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death are also all produced by the tathāgatagarbha in accordance with conditions; the root still lies in the manas's grasping nature and the manas's craving. Only by extinguishing the manas's craving can all feelings of suffering be extinguished.

From the above twelve links of dependent origination, all dharmas of the three-realm world arise because of the manas's craving and grasping; the tathāgatagarbha, in accordance with the manas and the karmic seeds, produces all dharmas of the five-aggregate world. Birth, death, suffering, and happiness are all produced by the tathāgatagarbha. Apart from the tathāgatagarbha there are no dharmas, and apart from the manas's grasping, the tathāgatagarbha would not produce dharmas. Therefore, in all dharmas there is the current functioning of both the manas and the tathāgatagarbha; all dharmas cannot be separated from the manas and the tathāgatagarbha.