Lectures on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (15)

Without the tathāgatagarbha there would be no dharmas at all

What the Buddha expounds in this passage is the formation of the world, with hardness as the primary aspect. Hardness comes from the earth element, and the earth element is the function of the seeds contained within the tathāgatagarbha. This statement explains that the trichiliocosm—the three-thousandfold great world system—is all transformed and fabricated out of the seeds within the tathāgatagarbha, that is, it is manifested by the tathāgatagarbha. The tathāgatagarbha of a single person cannot bring it forth; it is manifested together by the tathāgatagarbhas of all sentient beings with karmic connections. This is how the world comes into being, formed bit by bit by the tathāgatagarbha.

The above explains how the earth element within our own bodies is formed, and how the external earth element of the universe and empty space is formed, showing that all dharmas are created solely by the mind of the tathāgatagarbha, and that without the tathāgatagarbha there would be no dharmas at all. If you truly understand how profound this principle is, you will comprehend the true reality of the world, sever ignorance and delusion, and no longer cling to a self, nor cling to the gold, silver, jewels, mountains, rivers, and the great earth outside your body.