The Middle Way Nature of Tathāgatagarbha

Regarding the statement that the Tathagatagarbha possesses compassion, loving-kindness, sympathetic joy, and equanimity towards sentient beings, this is merely a metaphor. The Tathagatagarbha has no mind; it is neither compassionate nor unkind, neither joyful nor indifferent. It does not engage with the objects of the six senses, does not know of sentient beings, and does not perceive the suffering of sentient beings. The Tathagatagarbha is neither self-centered nor selfless, neither fearful nor fearless. In the realm of ultimate truth, this is its actual nature. While the Tathagatagarbha is said to encompass all practices, in reality, it does not perform a single dharma nor undertake any action whatsoever.

The meaning of "sense faculties and their objects sharing the same source" is that both sense faculties and their objects originate from the Tathagatagarbha. Apart from the mental faculty, both sense faculties and their objects are composed of the seeds of the four great elements, all manifested by the Tathagatagarbha, bestowed as its grace. It does not discriminate among any sense objects, paying no heed to distinctions of right or wrong, good or bad. It merely delivers seeds according to karmic imprints to bring forth manifestations, utterly unconcerned with all else.