The Black Box World (Twenty-Five)

When one has cultivated to the point of possessing the seed-wisdom of Consciousness-Only (唯识种智), upon coming into contact with another person, one can perceive part of that person's karmic seeds, and thus come to know the general circumstances of that person's past lives, as well as make judgments about the general circumstances of that person's future lives—often one's reading of people is quite accurate. Two tathāgatagarbhas can communicate with each other; for a person who possesses the seed-wisdom of Consciousness-Only, his mind consciousness can perceive the general circumstances of the other person through his own tathāgatagarbha, whereas for one who lacks this seed-wisdom, it is very difficult. Therefore, at times, sentient beings themselves do not yet know their own mental activities, while others have already come to know them, understanding them even better than they understand themselves. The moment a person opens his mouth to speak, he himself may feel there is nothing to it, yet a great deal of his own information has already leaked out, and he himself is unaware of it. Perceiving another person's information can be done through various channels; of course, face-to-face contact is somewhat more accurate—observing the other person's facial features, expressions and speech, observing the other person's expressed form (表色) and unexpressed form (无表色), their appearance, temperament, bearing, and so on—one's understanding will be more comprehensive and more accurate. All of these are the wisdom that the tathāgatagarbha bestows upon the mind consciousness.