What Is the Relationship between Innate Seeds and Newly Perfumed Seeds?

"Innately possessed" (benyou) means that which existed originally before beginningless kalpas, existing without any cause or condition—that is, the seeds of the seven great elements of earth, water, fire, wind, space, consciousness, and perception within the tathāgatagarbha. These seeds are neither born nor extinguished. The innately possessed seeds of the seven great elements exist naturally without being created by the five aggregates and the seven consciousnesses; there is no principle to be explained, no dharma that generates them, and no dharma that can extinguish them. They are pure and intrinsically so, manifesting throughout the entire dharmadhātu, not subject to perfuming, unchanging, forever pure.

"Newly perfumed" (xinxun) means the seeds deposited by the karmic actions of the seven consciousnesses after the five aggregates have come into birth; they are also called karmic seeds. They arise after birth and are subject to constant arising, ceasing, and change. Newly perfumed seeds are formed by the karmic actions created by the five aggregates and seven consciousnesses after birth; they are dharmas born of causes and conditions, divided into wholesome, unwholesome, and neither-wholesome-nor-unwholesome karmic seeds. After the seven consciousnesses become pure, the karmic actions they create leave behind only pure karmic seeds. When all the seeds of unwholesome karma have been eliminated, the tathāgatagarbha transforms consciousness into wisdom and accomplishes the Buddha Way.

The relationship between innately possessed seeds and newly perfumed seeds is this: the innately possessed seeds manifest within the three realms, forming the five aggregates, the seven consciousnesses, and all worldly dharmas. The seven consciousnesses, relying on causes and conditions, create karmic actions, and thus the seeds of those karmic actions are deposited into the tathāgatagarbha. Without the innately possessed seeds, there would be no newly perfumed seeds of later birth. When there is a doubt in one's mind, one only needs to clarify the concepts contained in the question, and half of the answer is already resolved. If the connotations of the concepts are unclear, then even if others answer, one is still prone to confusion. If the concepts are unclear and the question itself is ambiguous and problematic, then it is difficult for ordinary people to answer. If A, B, C, and D each have their own understanding of "innately possessed" and "newly perfumed," and they debate together, in what year and month could their views be unified and reach a consensus?