The Self-Validating Cognition (sva-saṃvitti-saṃvitti-bhāga) of the Tathāgatagarbha (II)

Third, when the tathāgatagarbha discerns the five-aggregate body of sentient beings, it knows whatever the present condition of the five-aggregate body is, how the five-aggregate body should change next—whether it should change for the better or for the worse, which parts should change for the better and which for the worse, what kinds of seeds of the four great elements should be transmitted, and whether these are coordinated—all of this the tathāgatagarbha knows in accordance with karmic seeds. Because sentient beings have causes, conditions, and karmic retribution, the tathāgatagarbha knows when a certain illness should appear, when that illness will disappear, how to transmit the seeds of the four great elements to alter the condition of the physical body, how much has been changed, how it still needs to be changed, and whether further change is still required. Throughout this entire series of operations, He knows His own actions and functions; this is the tathāgatagarbha's power of introspection, which is the self-validating cognition (sva-saṃvitti-saṃvitti-bhāga). Because of this power of introspection, because of such self-validating cognition, the tathāgatagarbha can proceed to carry out the next step of its operations, without repeating its former operations, without repeating its previous actions and functions: having manifested five fingers, it will not again redundantly manifest five or more fingers; having manifested a head, it will not again redundantly manifest another head; nor will it manifest half of an eye faculty and then fail to manifest the other half. All of this self-validating cognition does not pertain to discriminating the six sense objects; it all lies in discriminating the karmic seeds of sentient beings and in the operation of discerning the faculties and body of sentient beings. Because He must sustain the five-aggregate body of sentient beings, He can fully grasp the condition of the five-aggregate body. When He transmits the seeds of the four great elements to sustain the five-aggregate body, He knows what kinds of seeds of the four great elements are being transmitted, how much He Himself has transmitted, and how He should transmit further; He is also clear about the degree to which His own operation in a given dharma has progressed. Therefore He possesses not only self-cognition (svasaṃvitti) but also self-validating cognition (sva-saṃvitti-saṃvitti-bhāga). Fourth, as for discerning the inanimate world (bhājana-loka): because the tathāgatagarbha can discern karmic seeds, it knows how the universe, the inanimate world, should change. He must transmit the seeds of the four great elements to sustain and transform the inanimate world, so He is clear about the state to which He has sustained it, what changes the inanimate world should undergo, and the degree to which it has changed; He knows when a certain disaster will appear, and when that disaster will disappear. Throughout this period, He can grasp and know His own operations, so He knows how the next step should proceed, without repeating operations and without omissions. Since the tathāgatagarbha has knowledge in these respects, it possesses both self-cognition and self-validating cognition. Because the tathāgatagarbha can discern karmic seeds and can also discern the five-aggregate body, it is clear about how the physical body should change in the next moment, the next minute, the next second. Because it can discern karmic seeds, it knows which karmic seeds should become manifest at this time; once the karmic seeds become manifest, the seeds of the four great elements of the five-aggregate body must undergo change, and the body changes accordingly, in accord with the karmic seeds. The reason the five-aggregate body can continuously and imperceptibly change is precisely that it is brought about by the merit of the tathāgatagarbha's discernment of karmic seeds: according to the karmic seeds, He transmits the seeds of the four great elements, and the seeds of the four great elements are constantly changing at every moment. Whether the seeds of the four great elements are harmonized or not, and in what proportions they are transmitted—all of this the tathāgatagarbha knows. He knows how much of these changes He Himself has completed, to what degree they have progressed, and how He still needs to operate. Therefore, here there is not only the tathāgatagarbha's self-cognition but also its self-validating cognition: the tathāgatagarbha is clear about its own operations, and this is the self-validating cognition. If it were not clear about them, it would be unable to fully manifest karmic retribution in accordance with the karmic seeds, and cause and effect would fall into confusion.