The Five Great Seed Functions of Tathāgatagarbha

The inherent seeds of the tathāgatagarbha are the seeds of the seven great elements (saptamahābhūta), among which the five great-element seeds—earth, water, fire, wind, and space—are the fundamental elements that constitute material form (rūpa-dharma), while the seed of the great element of seeing and the seed of the great element of consciousness are the elements that constitute the mental dharmas (citta-caitta) of sentient beings' eight consciousnesses. Material form refers to the six sense objects—the realms of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas—plus sentient beings' five faculties, making eleven material forms in total. All the material forms in the universe's vessel-world (bhājana-loka), including sentient beings' physical bodies, from the entire universe and world down to the form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma of a single dust mote, are all formed by the tathāgatagarbha using the five great-element seeds.

How does the tathāgatagarbha output the five great-element seeds to form material form? The five great-element seeds initially output are formless and markless, neither material nor mental dharmas; after forming the initial extremely minute particles, they become material form with marks. This initial material form cannot be seen not only by the naked eye but also by the most sophisticated microscopes. As the particles rapidly accumulate and combine, they grow larger and larger, becoming electrons, protons, neutrons, nucleons, quarks, and other extremely tiny particles that sophisticated instruments can detect, finally forming tangible, marked masses of matter visible to the naked eye.

This operation of the tathāgatagarbha is truly inconceivable: it can transform formless seeds into tangible material form, as if conjuring something out of thin air. The tathāgatagarbha can be called the greatest magician. As long as He slightly alters the proportions and quantities of the five great-element seeds, the material form will change accordingly, and the properties of the matter will change. Moreover, the five great-element seeds in material form are constantly being output and withdrawn moment by moment. If matter is in a stage of growth, the number of seeds output will continuously increase, and the proportions will also change; if matter is in a stage of aging and maturation, fewer and fewer seeds are output, and the proportions also change.

Even matter of the same kind, at different stages and under different environmental conditions, differs in composition, function, color, smell, and taste, in the force it emits, in the speed of its arising, ceasing, and mutation, and in shape and appearance. From the very beginning as minute particles, matter possesses a certain potential energy and kinetic energy, because the seeds are output and withdrawn back into cessation upon the particles moment by moment, with arising, abiding, alteration, and cessation never pausing; the particles therefore move at high speed in a regular manner along certain trajectories, thereby producing energy. From the tiniest particles, they continuously aggregate to form small particles, which then gather into slightly larger particles, then further into even larger particles, ultimately becoming matter with a fixed shape. In this process, the energy accumulates ever greater, the forces of action grow ever stronger, and the magnetic field force likewise grows ever greater.

All kinds of particles move according to certain regular patterns, and along fixed orbits; this motion produces potential energy, and where there is potential energy there is energy; harnessing this energy can bring benefit to human survival. There are many kinds of matter, and consequently many kinds of energy produced. The various disciplines that have appeared in the secular world, such as physics, chemistry, optics, and other sciences, all study material form—studying the energy of material form and its transformations, as well as the law of conservation of energy—but none has reached a final, perfect conclusion. Because scientists do not understand the dharma of the tathāgatagarbha and do not know the operating principles of the tathāgatagarbha within material form, none of their high-end research and scientific experiments can ever attain ultimate completeness. Only the Buddha can penetrate to the ultimate source of the material world.

If we combine the principles of how material form is produced with scientific experiments, we can reveal all the inconceivable phenomena existing in the universe—physics, chemistry, optics, mathematics, and so on. When we study Yogācāra well and possess the seed-wisdom (bīja-jñāna) of Yogācāra, we can investigate all worldly disciplines thoroughly and reach directly to their roots, including religion, philosophy, psychology, physiology, biology, and all other fields of study—all of them are functions and operations of the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha reveals all the mysteries of the trichiliocosm (trisāhasra-mahāsāhasra-lokadhātu), and thus the truth of the universe is made manifest in the human world. Relying on it, we can obtain the deepest and greatest wisdom; when wisdom reaches its utmost, one becomes the omniscient one—the World-Honored Buddha.

After we cultivate the Buddha-dharma and attain seeing the mind and seeing the nature, and then cultivate further upward, having realized a portion of the seed-functions of the tathāgatagarbha and developed the wisdom of Yogācāra, then in worldly dharmas, no matter which field we come into contact with, if we devote our energy to any discipline, we can become top-tier talent in that field, surpassing the world's most elite scientists; in any subject, any dharma gate, any field, we can become a top-tier person. This is the greatest benefit we can obtain in worldly dharmas from studying the Buddha-dharma, studying Yogācāra, and realizing the Yogācāra nature and tathatā nature of all dharmas: the Buddha-dharma can make us wise in any field, invincible in worldly dharmas.