Black Box World (50)

The Tathāgatagarbha of every sentient being appropriates the external aspect, transforming it into their own internal aspect. This appropriation occurs according to the sentient being's own karmic conditions and their karmic seeds. When participating in manifesting the external aspect, due to differences in their respective karmic seeds, the Four Great Elements they output are certainly different from those of other sentient beings. In other words, since the contribution of shares invested in manifestation differs, the resultant karmic retribution also differs. The external aspects each one summons should likewise be different. Therefore, the aspects appropriated by each being's Tathāgatagarbha are different, and the manifested internal aspects are consequently different. This is the first point.

Second, due to differences in karmic force among sentient beings, even if they encounter identical external aspects, when the Tathāgatagarbha appropriates them, the manifested internal aspects will still differ. This is because of the sentient beings' karmic seeds; the six sense faculties are obstructed, preventing the normal transmission and reception of the subtle particles of the Four Great Elements. Consequently, the Tathāgatagarbha cannot normally manifest the corresponding internal aspect, resulting in a distorted internal aspect. Thus, the six consciousnesses cognize this distorted internal aspect, yet mistakenly believe it to be the true external aspect outside. As a result, the six consciousnesses engage in abnormal, distorted cognition of the six sense objects. Additionally, because the six consciousnesses are afflicted by greed, hatred, and delusion, their wisdom is narrow and inferior, preventing them from correctly cognizing the internal aspect. Therefore, they frequently engage in erroneous cognition.