Tathāgatagarbha and Material Form

The seeds of the four great elements are the inherent seeds within the tathāgatagarbha; when combined, they can generate various kinds of material form (rūpa). The four great elemental particles are the tiniest particles formed by the combination of the seeds of the four great elements; therefore, when these particles further aggregate, they form larger granules, and through continuous aggregation, they can form a kind of material form. When these particles condense, the states of their arrangement differ, and the material forms produced differ as well. The ways in which these particles are arranged are extremely diverse, and thus a splendid, colorful world of myriad hues is formed, each thing having its own function, and sentient beings each having their own needs. In essence, all are making use of the tathāgatagarbha, yet sentient beings are unaware of it.

Before sentient beings come to this world, their own tathāgatagarbha, together with the tathāgatagarbhas of other sentient beings, outputs the seeds of the four great elements, participating in manifesting the external object-aspect (outer nimitta) of the universe and the material world, and then continuously holds and sustains that external object-aspect. When the five faculties of a sentient being whose conditions are complete come into contact with a certain external object-aspect, the tathāgatagarbha, through the first five faculties, takes in the four great elemental particles of the external object-aspect and transmits them to the supreme faculty (indriya) at the back of the brain, manifesting the internal object-aspect. When the supreme faculty contacts the internal object-aspect, the tathāgatagarbha then manifests the six consciousnesses; when the faculties, sense objects, and consciousnesses again come into contact, the six consciousnesses can then discern the six inner sense objects.

Why is it that when the tathāgatagarbha outputs the seeds of the four great elements, material form is formed? Apart from the operation of the conscious mind, the four great elements cannot automatically form material form; it is always the tathāgatagarbha that makes use of the seeds of the four great elements to fashion material form. All dharmas, apart from the tathāgatagarbha, would instantly vanish and perish without a trace. The seeds of the four great elements are transmitted outward, forming the four great elements; then the tathāgatagarbhas together use the four great elements to fashion material form, then jointly sustain that material form, and then jointly and continuously transform that material form. Then who determines the ordering of the seeds of the four great elements? It is, of course, determined by the tathāgatagarbha. Does the tathāgatagarbha actively determine the ordering of the seeds? No; it is determined by the karmic seeds of sentient beings.