The Consciousness of Tathāgatagarbha

The tathāgatagarbha is also consciousness; it has its own functions and operations, and it has its own distinctive contents of discernment, which are not the same as those of the seven consciousnesses. Therefore, the tathāgatagarbha is the Ālayavijñāna, the eighth consciousness. The tathāgatagarbha can discern sentient beings' faculties (indriya), bodies, material surroundings, and realms, and discern sentient beings' karmic seeds. Apart from the six sense objects discerned by the seven consciousnesses, the tathāgatagarbha does not perform discernment of specific names, terms, and marks; everything else is the content discerned by the tathāgatagarbha. Only after the tathāgatagarbha discerns sentient beings' karmic seeds can it manifest the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) of sentient beings and bring about sentient beings' karmic retribution. It is by discerning karmic seeds that it can produce the environment in which sentient beings live and can transform and create the universe and the material world.

The tathāgatagarbha manifests the seven consciousnesses by streaming forth their seeds, and manifests the faculties, body, material surroundings, and realms by streaming forth the seeds of the four great elements. After the tathāgatagarbha knows the mental activities of sentient beings, it must cooperate with sentient beings' seven consciousnesses and five aggregates to generate the dharmas currently needed. If the tathāgatagarbha did not have the function of discernment, it could not bring about karmic retribution, nor could it manifest sentient beings and their living environments. The tathāgatagarbha entirely follows the karmic seeds to output the seeds of the four great elements, forming the physical body, forming the living environment, and forming the universe and the material world. The discriminating nature of the tathāgatagarbha is content to be studied and specifically known after enlightenment; before enlightenment, it cannot be observed.