The Tathāgatagarbha's Discernment of the Receptacle World, the Five-Aggregate Body, and the Mental Activities of the Manas

When the tathāgatagarbha discerns the external five sense-objects, it not only discerns the seeds of the five sense-objects, but can also discern the general appearances of the five sense-objects as they manifest and the forms of their particles. Because the tathāgatagarbha can take in the four great elements' particles, it must discern the state of those particles. The tathāgatagarbha discerns the body faculty and the material world (inanimate environment); this is a state formed from seeds—countless seeds of the four great elements mixed together, arising and ceasing moment by moment. The tathāgatagarbha must discern the general state and structure of the material world in which it exists, and so on, but not in the manner and with the content of the discernment of the six consciousnesses. The tathāgatagarbha knows the present state of the material world and its future state, and thus can maintain and change the state of the material world. In this way, what it discerns is not merely seeds, because the seeds have already become material form (rūpa-dharma).

The mode of activity (ākāra) of the tathāgatagarbha differs from that of the seven consciousnesses; their mental states differ greatly, and the difference in wisdom is even greater. No matter what, the seven consciousnesses can never match that kind of supramundane great wisdom of the tathāgatagarbha—that great wisdom which creates, transforms and manifests, and upholds all worldly dharmas.

The tathāgatagarbha also upholds and changes the five-aggregate body moment by moment. It must be able to discern the current state of the five-aggregate body and know how to change the five-aggregate body in the next instant, continuously keeping the five-aggregate body consistent with the karmic seeds. Whether the five-aggregate body should experience illness and pain in the next moment, whether the body should deteriorate or improve, what changes should occur in the next moment—the tathāgatagarbha knows all of this, including when the last breath should be exhaled. The tathāgatagarbha knows all of this, and therefore, in accordance with the karmic seeds and karmic conditions, it causes the material body to change, creating and transforming the material body according to conditions, so as to accord with the karmic seeds and bring karma's cause and effect to fruition.

If the seven consciousnesses wish to get rich, after the tathāgatagarbha discerns the mental activities of the manas, it then discerns the karmic seeds, checking whether there are corresponding karmic seeds and whether the conditions for getting rich have matured. If the conditions have matured, the tathāgatagarbha cooperates to create opportunities for wealth, fabricating various events, and then the money is obtained; otherwise, the tathāgatagarbha remains indifferent to the matter.