The Five Great Seed Functions of the Tathāgatagarbha

The intrinsically existing seeds of the tathāgatagarbha are the seven great seeds, of which the five great seeds—earth, water, fire, wind, and space—are the fundamental elements that compose material form (rūpa-dharma), while the seed of the great element of seeing and the seed of the great element of consciousness are the elements that compose the mental dharmas (citta-caitta) of sentient beings' eight consciousnesses. Material form refers to the six sense-objects of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma, together with sentient beings' five sense faculties, making eleven material dharmas in total. All material form in the universe's inanimate world, including sentient beings' physical bodies—from the vastness of cosmic worlds down to the form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharma of a single mote of dust—is formed by the tathāgatagarbha using the five great seeds.  

How does the tathāgatagarbha output the five great seeds to form material form? The five great seeds initially output are formless and markless, neither material nor mental dharmas; once they form the initial extremely minute particles, they become material form with marks. This initial material form cannot be seen not only by the naked eye but also by the most sophisticated microscopes. Then, as the particles rapidly accumulate and combine, they grow larger and larger, becoming extremely tiny particles that precision instruments can detect—electrons, protons, neutrons, nucleons, quarks, and so on—and finally form tangible, marked masses of matter visible to the naked eye.  

The tathāgatagarbha's operation is truly inconceivable: it can transform formless seeds into tangible material form, as if conjuring something out of thin air. The tathāgatagarbha can indeed be called the greatest magician. When the tathāgatagarbha alters the proportions and quantities of the five great seeds even slightly, the material form changes and its physical properties change; moreover, the five great seeds in material form are constantly being output and withdrawn moment by moment. If the material is in a stage of growth, the quantity of seeds output continuously increases and the proportions change; if the material is in a stage of maturation and aging, fewer and fewer seeds are output, and the proportions also change. The same kind of material, at different stages and under different environmental conditions, has different compositions, different functions, different colors, smells, and tastes, different emanations, different speeds of arising, ceasing, and transformation, and different shapes and appearances.

From the very beginning as minute particles, matter possesses a certain potential energy and kinetic energy, because the seeds are constantly output and withdrawn back upon the particles moment by moment, with arising, abiding, alteration, and ceasing never pausing; the particles therefore move at high speed in regular patterns along definite trajectories, thereby generating energy. From the tiniest particles, continuous aggregation forms small particles; small particles aggregate into larger particles, which in turn form even larger particles, finally becoming matter with fixed shapes. The energy accumulates ever greater, the force of action grows ever greater, and the magnetic force grows ever greater.

All kinds of particles move according to certain regularities; moving along fixed orbits, this motion generates potential energy, and where there is potential energy there is energy. People can utilize this energy to benefit human survival. There are many kinds of matter, and consequently many kinds of energy produced. The various disciplines that appear in the secular world—such as physics, chemistry, optics, and other sciences—all study material form, studying the energy of material form as well as the conversion and conservation of energy. Yet none of them has arrived at a final, perfect conclusion, because scientists do not understand the dharma of the tathāgatagarbha and do not know the operating principles of the tathāgatagarbha. Therefore, all their high-end research and scientific experiments can never reach ultimate completeness and perfection; only the Buddha can penetrate to the ultimate source of the material world.  

If we combine the principles of how material form is produced with scientific experiments, we can overcome all the inconceivable phenomena existing in the world and the universe—physics, chemistry, optics, mathematics, and so on. If we master Yogācāra and possess the wisdom of Yogācāra seeds, we can investigate every worldly discipline with perfect clarity and reach directly to its root, including religion, philosophy, psychology, physiology, biology, and all other disciplines—all of which are functions and operations of the tathāgatagarbha. The dharma of the tathāgatagarbha can reveal all the mysteries of the trichiliocosm, and thus the truth of the universe is made manifest in the human world. Relying on it, we can obtain the deepest wisdom; when wisdom reaches its utmost, one becomes an omniscient one, attaining buddhahood.

After we cultivate the Buddhadharma and achieve seeing the true mind and realizing our nature, and then cultivate further upward, when we possess the wisdom of the varieties of paths regarding Yogācāra and the wisdom of Yogācāra has been developed, and after we have realized a portion of the seed-functions of the tathāgatagarbha, then in worldly dharmas, as soon as we come into contact with any field or discipline, we can become an absolute authority. Whatever field of study we devote our energy to, we can become top-tier talent, surpassing the world's most elite scientists. In any subject, any dharma gate, any field whatsoever, we can become a top-tier expert. This is the greatest benefit that we can obtain in worldly dharmas from studying the Buddhadharma and studying Yogācāra, realizing the Yogācāra nature—the tathatā nature—of all dharmas. The Buddhadharma can make us wise in every field, invincible in worldly dharmas.