Black Box World (50)

The Tathagatagarbha of every sentient being apprehends the external aspect, transforming it into its own internal aspect. This process also depends on the sentient being's own karmic conditions and is based on its own karmic seeds. When participating in the manifestation of the external aspect, due to the differences in their respective karmic seeds, the four elements they output will certainly differ from those of other sentient beings. In other words, the "shares" invested in the manifestation differ, resulting in different karmic retribution. The external aspects each one attracts should also differ. Therefore, the aspects apprehended by their respective Tathagatagarbha are different, and the manifested internal aspects are consequently different. This is the first point.

Secondly, even if sentient beings encounter the same external aspect, due to differences in their karmic force, when the Tathagatagarbha apprehends it, the manifested internal aspect will still differ. This is because of the sentient beings' karmic seeds: their six sense faculties have obstructions, preventing the normal transmission and reception of the subtle particles of the four elements in between. Consequently, the Tathagatagarbha cannot normally manifest the corresponding internal aspect, resulting in a distorted internal aspect. Thus, the six consciousnesses discern this distorted internal aspect but mistakenly believe it to be the true external aspect outside. Consequently, the six consciousnesses perform abnormal, distorted discernment of the six sense objects. Additionally, because the six consciousnesses are afflicted with greed, hatred, and delusion, their wisdom is narrow and inferior, preventing them from correctly discerning the internal aspect. Therefore, they often engage in erroneous discernment.