The Five Great Seed Functions of Tathāgatagarbha

The inherent seeds of Tathāgatagarbha are the Seven Great Seeds. Among them, the five great seeds—earth, water, fire, wind, and space—are the fundamental elements constituting material form (rūpa dharma). The seeing great seed and the consciousness great seed are the elements constituting the eight consciousnesses, the mental dharmas of sentient beings. Form dharma refers to the six sense-object realms of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects, plus the five sense faculties of sentient beings, totaling eleven form dharmas. All material form dharmas in the universe and the vessel world, including the physical bodies of sentient beings, ranging from the entire cosmic world down to the form, sound, smell, taste, and touch of a single mote of dust, are all formed by Tathāgatagarbha using the five great seeds.

How does Tathāgatagarbha output the five great seeds to form material form dharmas? The initially output five great seeds are formless and non-material, non-mental dharmas. After forming the initial, extremely minute particles, they become form dharmas with characteristics. The initial form dharmas are not only invisible to the naked eye but also undetectable by the most precise microscopes. Accompanied by the rapid accumulation and combination of particles, the particles grow increasingly larger, becoming minuscule particles detectable by sophisticated instruments—such as electrons, protons, neutrons, nucleons, quarks, etc.—and ultimately form tangible, visible masses of matter.

This operation of Tathāgatagarbha is utterly inconceivable, transforming formless seeds into tangible form dharmas, truly as if conjured out of thin air. Tathāgatagarbha can be said to be the greatest magician. Merely by slightly altering the proportion and quantity of the five great seeds, the material form dharmas change accordingly, the properties of matter alter, and the five great seeds upon the material form dharmas are also output and withdrawn instantaneously, moment after moment. If matter is in a growth phase, the quantity of seeds output continuously increases, and the proportions also change. If matter is in a phase of decay or maturation, the seeds output become progressively fewer, and the proportions likewise change.

Even matter belonging to the same type differs in composition, function, color, smell, taste, emission power, speed of birth, change, and extinction, as well as shape and appearance, depending on the stage and different environmental conditions. From the very beginning, matter, starting from minuscule particles, possesses certain potential and kinetic energy. Because seeds are output onto the particles and extinguished back instantaneously, moment after moment, without pause in birth, abiding, change, and extinction, the particles move at high speed along specific trajectories in a regular manner, thereby generating energy. From the tiniest particles continuously aggregating to form small particles, small particles further aggregating into slightly larger particles, and then forming even larger particles, ultimately becoming matter with fixed shapes. During this process, the energy accumulates increasingly, the force of action also accumulates increasingly, and the magnetic field force similarly accumulates increasingly.

All kinds of particles move with certain regular patterns and along fixed orbits. Movement generates potential energy; where there is potential energy, there is energy. Harnessing this energy can benefit human survival. With the multitude of material types, the types of energy produced are also numerous. The various disciplines that appear in the secular world, such as Physics, Chemistry, Optics, and other sciences, all study material form dharmas, investigating the energy and transformation of material form dharmas, as well as the law of conservation of energy. However, none have arrived at a final, perfect conclusion. Because scientists do not understand the Dharma of Tathāgatagarbha and are unaware of its operating principles within material form dharmas, all their cutting-edge research and scientific experiments cannot reach ultimate perfection and completeness. Only the Buddha can perceive the ultimate source of the material world.

If we combine the principles of how material form dharmas arise with scientific experiments, we can reveal all the inconceivable phenomena existing in the universe, including all physical, chemical, optical, mathematical, and other such phenomena. When we master the Consciousness-Only (Vijñaptimātratā) doctrine and attain the wisdom-seed of Consciousness-Only, we can investigate all worldly disciplines with utter clarity and penetrate directly to their root source. This includes all academic fields such as religion, philosophy, psychology, physiology, biology, etc., all of which are functions and operations of Tathāgatagarbha. Tathāgatagarbha reveals all the mysteries within the trichiliocosm, thus making the truth of the universe manifest in the human world. Relying on this, we can attain the deepest and greatest wisdom. When wisdom reaches its ultimate perfection, one becomes the All-Knowing One—the Buddha Bhagavat.

After we cultivate the Buddha Dharma, understand the mind, and see the true nature (明心见性), and then advance further in cultivation, realizing a portion of the seed functions and operations of Tathāgatagarbha and developing the wisdom of Consciousness-Only, then within worldly dharmas, as long as we engage with a single category and apply our energy to any academic field, we can become top talents in that field, surpassing the world's most eminent scientists. We can become preeminent in any subject, any method, any field whatsoever. This is the greatest benefit we can obtain in worldly dharmas from studying the Buddha Dharma, studying Consciousness-Only, and realizing the Consciousness-Only nature and Suchness nature of all dharmas. The Buddha Dharma enables us to be wise in any field, invincible in worldly dharmas.