The Object of Cognition (ālambana) of the Tathāgatagarbha

When the Buddha taught the dharma of dependent arising, He said: name-and-form is conditioned on consciousness, and consciousness is conditioned on name-and-form. This consciousness is the tathāgatagarbha ālayavijñāna, and name-and-form refers to the five aggregates (pañcaskandha): the aggregate of form (rūpa), the aggregate of feeling (vedanā), the aggregate of perception (saṃjñā), the aggregate of formations (saṃskāra), and the aggregate of consciousness (vijñāna). It is by being conditioned on name-and-form that the tathāgatagarbha can manifest itself and be put to use. If there were no name-and-form, the tathāgatagarbha would have no way to manifest, and its virtuous nature could not be brought into play. Name-and-form must be conditioned on the tathāgatagarbha in order to arise and exist; without the tathāgatagarbha, name-and-form would not arise. Name-and-form and the tathāgatagarbha exist in mutual dependence. Although the tathāgatagarbha can exist on its own, not depending on name-and-form for its being, in order to function it must rely on name-and-form to do so; the two are like sheaves of reeds leaning on each other for support.

The tathāgatagarbha is also conditioned on karmic seeds; in accordance with the karmic seeds of sentient beings, it manifests their retributive bodies, the environments of their dependent retribution, and various kinds of karmic retribution. The tathāgatagarbha is also conditioned on the intrinsically existing seeds of the four great elements within itself, manifesting the five aggregates and eighteen realms of sentient beings, as well as the material universe, the vessel world. The tathāgatagarbha is also conditioned on the minds of the seven consciousnesses: it discerns the mental activities of the seven consciousnesses, transmits the seeds of consciousness, and cooperates with the functioning of the seven consciousnesses.