The Relationship between Karmic Seeds and Latent Tendencies

The relationship between karmic seeds and habitual tendencies is extremely profound in principle, belonging to the domain of the seed-wisdom (sarvākārajñatā) of Yogācāra. Habitual tendencies arise when a dharma practiced over a long time becomes an established force; it then comes to dominate the body, speech, and mind, creating karmic actions, which are then stored as seeds. This deepens and加重 the karmic seeds, causing one's habitual tendencies in the future to become even heavier.

Habitual tendencies also come from karmic seeds; since something long-practiced becomes a habit, there must be karmic seeds behind it. Habitual tendencies are manifested by the manas; the manas directs the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses, and after these are created, they are stored as karmic seeds, which become active in later lives—this is called habitual tendency. Karmic seeds are formed through karma created under the direction of the manas; the manas corresponds completely with the karmic seeds—whatever the manas is like, the karmic seeds are like that; and whatever the karmic seeds are like, the manas manifests karmic actions of that kind. If one wants to leave behind karmic seeds of no-self, what should one do? If one wants to form habitual tendencies of no-self, how should one practice? If in future lives one wants to be born already seeing the world of the five aggregates as empty, how should one practice in this life?

Subhūti, while still in his mother's womb, already knew that the world is empty and tranquil—how deep must that habitual tendency have been? It came from cultivation and realization of emptiness over eons beyond count. The manas's habitual tendency of emptiness has nothing at all to do with the conditioning by the mind consciousness; even before the mind consciousness appears, the manas is already empty. How effortless, free, and liberated must such emptiness be! As for emptiness that exists only in theory, at the moment of death one is no longer empty, after death even less so, and in future lives one cannot be empty at all. Therefore, theoretically abiding in notions like "like a dream, like an illusion," or "suchness and dharma-nature"—that is all self-deception, of no use whatsoever. When the critical moment arrives, one acts just as one always has, and at the end of life one dies just as one always would—the problem of birth and death remains unsolved. These theoretical understandings reveal their true form the moment one encounters an actual situation; one's original face is fully exposed. That is precisely why it is said to be of no use. But when the manas has realized it and karmic seeds are formed, one reaps the benefit life after life: when events arise, one does not revert to one's original form, and one is not deluded at the time of rebirth. If one is not deluded while dwelling in the womb, not deluded at birth, and not deluded throughout the process of growing up, then one is liberated at all times.