Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (79)

The Five Aggregates and Seven Consciousnesses Create All Karmic Actions, and the Tathāgatagarbha Knows Them All

When foolish sentient beings see forms with their eyes, they immediately give rise to a mind of craving and delight; greed and attachment manifest, and the mind is drawn to, stuck to, and bound by forms. When the six sense objects of the external world bind us, it is the mind that is bound. When the mind is bound by an invisible rope of craving and attachment, it begins to create karmic actions of greed. Karmic actions are divided into bodily actions, verbal actions, and mental actions. Bodily actions are the three kinds created by the body: killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. There are also the creations of verbal karma: the four kinds of verbal karma—false speech, frivolous speech, divisive speech, and harsh speech—appear. Mental karma is greed, hatred, and delusion. Thus the ten kinds of karma arise. After these three kinds of actions of body, speech, and mind are created, they are stored as seeds in the tathāgatagarbha. When the conditions ripen, the seeds manifest, and sentient beings undergo the retribution.

When undergoing karmic retribution, it is actually oneself taking revenge upon oneself. When sentient beings create karma, whom do they most fear knowing about it? It does not matter if ghosts and spirits know, nor does it matter if the Dharma-protecting deities know, nor even if the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas know. What is feared is that the tathāgatagarbha knows. But can you think that the tathāgatagarbha would not know? When the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses create karmic actions, it all depends on the tathāgatagarbha's cooperation; without Him, no karmic action could be created at all. Therefore, He knows all the actions and creations of the five aggregates, and at the same time He collects and stores the karmic seeds. Once we understand this principle, we must be careful with our bodily, verbal, and mental actions, refrain from creating evil karma any further, and create more wholesome karma, doing our utmost to cease evil and cultivate goodness.