The Relationship Between Karmic Seeds and Habitual Tendencies

The relationship between karmic seeds and habitual tendencies is a very profound principle, belonging to the domain of seed-wisdom (bīja-jñāna) in Yogācāra. A habitual tendency arises when a dharma long practiced has gained momentum and is about to dominate the body, speech, and mind, creating karmic actions that are then stored as seeds. This deepens and intensifies the karmic seeds, causing one's habitual tendencies to become even heavier in the future.

Habitual tendencies also come from karmic seeds; since they have formed into habits over a long time, there must be karmic seeds behind them. Habitual tendencies are manifested by the manas. The manas directs the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of the six consciousnesses; after these actions are performed, they are stored as karmic seeds, which become active in future lives—this is called habitual tendency. Karmic seeds are formed through karma created under the direction of the manas. The manas fully corresponds 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 you want to leave behind karmic seeds of "no-self," what should you do? If you want to form habitual tendencies of "no-self," how should you cultivate? If in future lives you want to be born already seeing the world of the five aggregates as empty, how should you cultivate 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 extending over countless kalpas. The manas' habitual tendency of emptiness has nothing at all to do with being perfumed by the mind consciousness. 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 it is no longer empty, after death even less so, and in future lives it becomes impossible to be empty at all. Therefore, theoretically abiding in things like "like a dream, like an illusion," or "suchness and the nature of dharmas"—that is all self-deception, of no practical use whatsoever. When the critical moment arrives, one acts just as one always has, and at death one dies just as one always would; the problem of birth and death cannot be solved. These theoretical understandings reveal their true form the moment one encounters a real situation—one's original shape is fully exposed—which is precisely why they are said to be of no use. But when the manas has realized it and formed karmic seeds, one reaps the benefit life after life: when situations 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.