The Seeds of the Seven Great Elements in the Tathāgatagarbha of Sentient Beings Are the Same, While the Karmic Seeds Are Different

Question: Are the seven intrinsically existing great seeds contained within the tathāgatagarbha of all sentient beings identical? Are the seeds of consciousness of sentient beings all the same? What do the seeds of consciousness include—are there many classifications? Are karmic seeds formed from combinations of the basic seven great seeds?

Answer: The seven great seeds within the tathāgatagarbha of every sentient being are identical, without the slightest difference; the seeds of consciousness are also identical, without the slightest difference. What differs are the karmic seeds, the mental factors, and the manifestations of the five aggregates and the conscious mind.

The seeds of consciousness are divided into the seeds of the eye consciousness, ear consciousness, mind consciousness, and the seventh consciousness, which respectively form the seven consciousnesses. Karmic seeds are what remain after bodily, verbal, and mental actions are performed; they are formless and without appearance, recording the true facts of the five aggregates' bodily, verbal, and mental actions. The activities of the mental factors are likewise stored in the form of karmic seeds.