Lectures on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra), Part Eleven

How does the kalala come into being?

Original text:大王。若时女人。而于内心。如所思维。彼补噜沙。彼补噜沙。亦生爱乐。由二和合。羯逻蓝生。又复思维。相似和合。而得生者。无有是处。若二女人。无有是处。二补噜沙。亦无是处。若彼彼思惟。而得生者。亦无是处。自体无实。非相应故。

Explanation: Great King, if a woman, in her mind, thinks of another person (a man), and that man also feels love and longing for this woman, then when these two come together in union, a kalala (fertilized egg) within seven days will come into being. If the two people are not together, dwelling in different places, and merely imagine in their minds that the two of them could unite, with their bodies not physically touching, and a fertilized egg could be produced—this is impossible. Because there is no actual physical contact, the tathāgatagarbha cannot output the seed of the earth element and the other five great elements out of thin air to sustain a fertilized egg that does not exist; therefore, no living being is born.

If two women were to come together in union and produce a kalala, that is also impossible; if two men were to come together in union and produce a kalala, that is likewise impossible. If any two people long for each other but cannot actually come together in union, and yet a kalala could be produced, that is even more impossible. Because there is no actual physical body and no four great elements, the kalala cannot come into being, since the conditions are not complete.