Tathāgatagarbha Also Has Knowing

The tathāgatagarbha also has four aspects: the perceiving-aspect (darśana-bhāga), the object-aspect (nimitta), the self-cognition (svasaṃvitti), and the self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana). Therefore, the tathāgatagarbha also has knowing, and the scope of what He knows is extremely vast. Because the tathāgatagarbha has the nature of discernment, it can discern the manas, the bodily faculty, and the material world, and discern karmic seeds; this nature of discernment is the perceiving-aspect of the tathāgatagarbha, while the bodily faculty and the material world are the object-aspect of the tathāgatagarbha. Because the tathāgatagarbha has the nature of discernment, the tathāgatagarbha has knowing. This knowing is the self-cognition (svasaṃvitti), which is able to directly and personally cognize the attention (manaskāra) and deliberation (manasikāra) mental factors of the manas, to cognize the bodily faculty and the material world, and to cognize karmic seeds.

The tathāgatagarbha also has the self-validating cognition (svasaṃvedana), being able to introspect upon itself, knowing that it has discerned the mental activities of the manas, and knowing that it has discerned the bodily faculty, the material world, and karmic seeds; however, the tathāgatagarbha does not know itself, nor does it grasp at itself; therefore, the tathāgatagarbha is selfless. The perceiving-aspect of the tathāgatagarbha is extremely broad, meaning that the scope of its knowing and discernment is very vast: it discerns the seven consciousnesses, discerns the bodily faculty and the material world, and discerns karmic seeds. This nature of discernment is the perceiving-aspect of the tathāgatagarbha.