The First Seven Consciousnesses Cannot Discover the Tathāgatagarbha and the Seeds of the Four Great Elements

Material form (rūpa) is generated from the seeds of the four great elements. If technology advanced to the point where material form could be subdivided infinitely, would the seeds of the four great elements ultimately be discovered?

The seeds of the four great elements are formless and markless, corresponding only to the tathāgatagarbha and not to the seven consciousnesses. No matter what method the seven consciousnesses employ, they cannot discover the seeds of the four great elements. Scientists, relying on technological means, can discover neither the tathāgatagarbha nor the seeds; they can only discover material form. Only through the methods and means of Buddhist practice and realization can the tathāgatagarbha be discovered, but even then the seeds cannot be discovered. Only the tathāgatagarbha can discover the seeds; the seven consciousnesses cannot. Otherwise, the seven consciousnesses would function the same as the tathāgatagarbha.

The particle approaching voidness is the smallest kind of particle composed of the seeds of the four great elements; it is material form and can be divided into outer sense-objects and inner sense-objects. The Buddha said in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra that form and empty space cannot transform into each other; both are born of the tathāgatagarbha and cannot give birth to each other. The four great elements are originally the functions of the tathāgatagarbha, so the so-called material form accomplished by the four great elements is also a shadow manifested by the tathāgatagarbha. Not only is the inner material sense-object a shadow, but the appearances of the outer six sense-objects are in fact also shadow-images.

Therefore, from the perspective of the realm of ultimate reality, there is fundamentally no such thing as a material universe or the vessel-world. The first seven consciousnesses are dharmas manifested from the seeds of the tathāgatagarbha consciousness. When all dharmas are traced back to the end, everything is the tathāgatagarbha.

Material form (rūpa) is generated from the seeds of the four great elements. If technology advanced to the point where material form could be subdivided infinitely, would the seeds of the four great elements ultimately be discovered?

The seeds of the four great elements are formless and markless, corresponding only to the tathāgatagarbha and not to the seven consciousnesses. No matter what method the seven consciousnesses employ, they cannot discover the seeds of the four great elements. Scientists, relying on technological means, can discover neither the tathāgatagarbha nor the seeds; they can only discover material form. Only through the methods and means of Buddhist practice and realization can the tathāgatagarbha be discovered, but even then the seeds cannot be discovered. Only the tathāgatagarbha can discover the seeds; the seven consciousnesses cannot. Otherwise, the seven consciousnesses would function the same as the tathāgatagarbha.

The particle approaching voidness is the smallest kind of particle composed of the seeds of the four great elements; it is material form and can be divided into outer sense-objects and inner sense-objects. The Buddha said in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra that form and empty space cannot transform into each other; both are born of the tathāgatagarbha and cannot give birth to each other. The four great elements are originally the functions of the tathāgatagarbha, so the so-called material form accomplished by the four great elements is also a shadow manifested by the tathāgatagarbha. Not only is the inner material sense-object a shadow, but the appearances of the outer six sense-objects are in fact also shadow-images.

Therefore, from the perspective of the realm of ultimate reality, there is fundamentally no such thing as a material universe or the vessel-world. The first seven consciousnesses are dharmas manifested from the seeds of the tathāgatagarbha consciousness. When all dharmas are traced back to the end, everything is the tathāgatagarbha.