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 memories before the age of two or three, or have no impression of things from early childhood?

Answer: Because the child is young, the functions of his mind consciousness are not yet fully complete, so things from early childhood are not easily remembered. After growing up, when the functions of the mind consciousness become strong and one has gained a certain amount of life experience, one's memory becomes strong. When one is too young, the supreme faculty (indriya) of the brain is not yet fully developed, and the functions of the mind consciousness, which operate depending on the supreme faculty, are therefore 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 age of one or two, or three or five, most of the things experienced 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; people whose brains lack adequate nutrition forget things shortly after doing them—malnutrition of the brain can cause poor memory. Therefore, the recollection function of the mind consciousness also makes use of the material substances in the brain. If the brain is not sufficiently developed, one's memory will be poor; the functions and operations of the mind consciousness depend on the brain.