Why Do Most People Have No Memories Before the Age of 2–3?

Question: The tathāgatagarbha records the karmic actions of sentient beings—all memories are recorded by the tathāgatagarbha—so why do ordinary people have no memory before the age of two or three, or have no impression of events from their childhood?

Answer: Because the child is young, the functions of his mind consciousness are not yet fully developed, so events from early childhood are not easily remembered. After growing up, when the mind consciousness becomes powerful and one has gained a certain amount of survival experience, memory becomes strong. At a very young age, the supreme faculty of the brain is not yet fully developed, so the functions of the mind consciousness, which operate depending on the supreme faculty, are weak. For example, in the mother's womb, the fetus also has a mind consciousness, and perhaps it can remember some things, but after leaving the womb it knows nothing anymore. Before the ages of one or two, or three to five, most of the events one experiences cannot be remembered, because at that time the brain is not yet sufficiently developed, and the memory and recollection functions of the mind consciousness are not yet strong enough.

Some people have brain problems. Those whose brains are undernourished forget things shortly after doing them; malnutrition of the brain can lead to poor memory. Therefore, the recollection function of the mind consciousness also utilizes the material substances in the brain. When the brain is not sufficiently developed, one's memory is poor; the functions and operations of the mind consciousness depend on the brain.