Commentary on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (28)

The Water Element: Coming from Nowhere, Going Nowhere

When sentient beings first enter the womb, there is no water in the fertilized egg. As the tathāgatagarbha gradually enlarges the fertilized egg, water comes to be contained within it—where does that water come from? When a sentient being dies, the water element in the body is gone—where does that water go? The water element comes from nowhere and goes nowhere; this is the Hīnayāna way of explaining it. From the Mahāyāna perspective, where does the water element come from? It comes from the tathāgatagarbha. The Mahāyāna teaches that all dharmas come from the tathāgatagarbha, while the Hīnayāna teaches that all dharmas are empty—coming from nowhere and going nowhere. These are the two ways of explaining it in the Great and Small Vehicles.