Tathāgatagarbha Alone Is the Sovereign of All Dharmas

The dharmas that the tathāgatagarbha corresponds to and discerns are more numerous than the dharmas that the manas corresponds to and discerns, and the dharmas that the manas corresponds to and discerns are far more numerous than the dharmas that the mind consciousness corresponds to and discerns. From this, it is evident that the tathāgatagarbha gives rise to all dharmas and encompasses everything; it is evident that the manas exercises its dominion over the mind consciousness, and that the manas is the master and representative of deluded dharmas; and it is evident that the mind consciousness possesses the nature of dependent origination (paratantra) and lacks autonomy.

Regarding the handling of all dharmas, on the surface it appears that everything is handled by the mind consciousness, but in fact it is the manas that directs and handles things behind the scenes; in essence, it is the tathāgatagarbha that handles them by means of the seeds of the seven great elements. Only the tathāgatagarbha is the true master of all dharmas. As for its speed of handling, the tathāgatagarbha has no speed at all—it operates in the very present moment, never separated from the dharmas even for an instant. In handling dharmas, the tathāgatagarbha relies, first, on karmic seeds, and second, on the manas's seeking and its choices regarding dharmas.

As for the portions that the manas can clearly discern on its own, it handles them extremely quickly, completing the handling even without the mind consciousness knowing; the mind consciousness only learns of it afterward. For example, when some minor incident occurs in the physical body, the manas can immediately deal with it, though occasionally it must resort to the mind consciousness. As for dharmas that the manas cannot discern clearly, it must rely on the discernment of the mind consciousness, and its handling of them must also be carried out through the mind consciousness; its speed of handling is slower than that of the mind consciousness. On its own, the mind consciousness cannot handle anything; it always acts in coordination with the manas, or assists the manas, or coerces the manas into handling things. If the manas does not consent, the mind consciousness can handle nothing—though this does not rule out cases where the manas is deceived or coerced by the mind consciousness.