Among the Four Modes of Birth, Nine Realms of Existence, and Twenty-Five Categories of Sentient Beings, Which Type Does a Cell Belong to?

The cell is the fundamental tissue that constitutes the sentient being's body, composed of the four great elements. It lacks a conscious mind and therefore is not an independent living entity, nor is it a sentient being. The composition, arising, cessation, and transformation of the four great elements are the functional activities of the Tathagatagarbha. Thus, all functional activities of the cell are the operational mechanisms of the Tathagatagarbha, and all activities of life are the operational mechanisms of the Tathagatagarbha. This content is particularly profound and subtle, exceedingly difficult to observe—many times more challenging than observing the activities of the Manas. All of this belongs to the domain of the Wisdom of Consciousness-Only, including observing the operational mechanisms of the Manas, which requires the Wisdom of Consciousness-Only. Ordinary people's views on the Manas are not derived from direct experiential observation and therefore are unreliable; one should not be overly confident in them.

Observing a series of cellular activities under a microscope reveals how intricate and profound the operational mechanisms of the Tathagatagarbha truly are—how unfathomable and difficult to comprehend, yet how miraculous. How does it construct the living body? How does it enable the living body to function? How does it cause the living body to vanish and perish? From this, it becomes evident that the entire living body is entirely the functional activity of the Tathagatagarbha. Therefore, the living body belongs to the Tathagatagarbha, not to the Manas-"I." The Manas has absolutely no reason to claim the living body as its own, incessantly clinging to "I, I, I" day after day, lacking self-awareness and understanding of others. Utterly ignorant of everything, it ceaselessly generates the affliction of "I, I, I"—this is the most fundamental beginningless ignorance.