The Five Great Seed Functions of the Tathāgatagarbha

The inherent seeds of the tathāgatagarbha are the seven great seeds. Among them, the five great seeds—earth, water, fire, wind, and space—are the fundamental elements that constitute material form (rūpa-dharma), while the great seed of seeing and the great seed 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 of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma; together with sentient beings' five sense faculties, there are in total eleven kinds of material form. All the material forms in the universe's inanimate world, including sentient beings' physical bodies—from the entire universe and world down to the form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma of a single particle of dust—are formed by the tathāgatagarbha using the five great seeds.

How does the tathāgatagarbha output the five great seeds to form material form? The five great seeds initially output are formless and markless, neither material dharmas nor mental dharmas. Only after forming the initial, extremely minute particles do 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, and finally form tangible, visible masses of matter.

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 may well be called the greatest magician. He need only alter the proportions and quantities of the five great seeds ever so slightly, and the material form changes accordingly—its properties change. Moreover, the five great seeds in material form are constantly being output and withdrawn moment by moment. If the material is in a stage of growth, the quantity of seeds output continuously increases and the proportions also change; if the material is in a stage of aging and maturation, fewer and fewer seeds are output, and the proportions also change.

Even when materials belong to the same kind, at different stages and under different environmental conditions, their compositions differ, their functions differ, their colors, smells, and tastes differ, their radiated energies differ, the speeds of their arising, ceasing, and mutation differ, and their shapes and appearances all differ. 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 ceasing never pausing; the particles therefore move at high speed in a regular manner along definite trajectories, thereby generating energy. From the tiniest particles, they continuously aggregate to form small particles; the small particles then aggregate into slightly larger particles, which in turn form even larger particles, and finally become matter with fixed shapes. In this process, energy accumulates ever larger, the forces of action grow ever stronger, and the magnetic field forces likewise grow ever stronger.

All kinds of particles move according to certain regular patterns, and along fixed orbits; this motion generates 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 the kinds of energy they generate are also numerous. The various disciplines that have appeared in the secular world—such as physics, chemistry, optics, and other fields—all study material form, studying the energy of material form and its transformations, as well as the law of conservation of energy, yet none has arrived at 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, all their high-end research and scientific experiments cannot possibly reach ultimate perfection. Only the Buddha can penetrate to the ultimate source of the material world.

If we combine the principles of how material form is generated with scientific experiments, we can reveal all the inconceivable phenomena existing in the universe—physical, chemical, optical, mathematical, and so on. When we have studied Yogācāra well and possess the seed-wisdom of Yogācāra, every discipline in the world can be investigated with complete clarity, reaching straight to its root—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, and thus the truth of the universe is made manifest in the human world. Relying on it, we can attain the deepest and greatest wisdom; when wisdom reaches its ultimate limit, one becomes the omniscient one—the World-Honored Buddha.

After we cultivate the Buddha-dharma and attain seeing the true mind and realizing our nature, and then advance further in our studies, 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 touch—applying our energy to any discipline—we can become top-tier talent in that field, surpassing the most elite scientists in the world, becoming a top-tier figure in any subject, any dharma-gate, any field whatsoever. This is the greatest benefit we can obtain in worldly dharmas from studying the Buddha-dharma, studying Yogācāra, and realizing the Yogācāra nature and suchness nature of all dharmas: the Buddha-dharma can make us wise in any field, invincible in worldly dharmas.